I heard the McConnell encouraged Trump to release the phone call transcript.

[Kablooie]

But I wonder, had McConnell read it beforehand?

McConnell would have known right away how damaging the phone call would be to Trump so if he wanted Trump to release it, he was deliberately throwing Trump way under the bus tires.

That would mean he wanted the impeachment to start.
If he wanted impeachment then he either wants Trump gone or he plans to use the impeachment against the Democrats.

[napi21]

1. I have difficulty believing McTurtle encouraaged him to release it. I never have anything

positive to say about McTurtle, but I will say he's NOT stupid! He HAD to know that transcript was VERY INCRIMINATING. I also don't believe he would have done it just to fight the Dems. H would have known the damage to Orangeman would be far worse than whatever he could do to the Dems. I don't know where you found this info but I can't believe McTurtle recommended it's release.

[Kablooie]

5. I heard it on NPR this morning.

[RockRaven]

2. McTurtle is not immune from arrogance either, so maybe he thought that Trump could weather

the storm like he did with Mueller's report and then move on, deflecting future criticisms of this event as "old news" like they do with the Mueller report.

Or McConnell's primary miscalculation might be in mis-judging House Dems' and Pelosi's reactions. Let's be honest, if Pelosi and House Dems had not reacted as they did, would the media have reacted as *they* did? I doubt it.

[dawg day]

3. McConnell knows that Trump's a loser now-

There's no longer any advantage to buffering him.

[customerserviceguy]

4. Whether he read it or not

he's probably ready to get rid of Trump if that can be done. It has to be pretty hard keeping up with whatever the Orange Menace wants, and Pence would be a lot easier for him to work with.

He's probably taken the opinion that he wins either way, if Trump gets removed from office or not. As long as he can keep the Senate confirming reich-wing judicial choices, he knows he has a mission to accomplish.

[Volaris]

8. Agreed. If he can keep his senate majority by throwing Trump to the House Dems,

He will do it in an instant. He doesn't give a fuck about the consequences later, because he knows hes

A: in a position to control the outcome, and

B: smart and politically savvy enough to say 'look, I'm the hero', no matter the outcome.

The only way this doesn't work in his favor, is if he's voted out of office. Good luck with that..

[SunSeeker]

6. I don't believe that rumor. Mitch would not have been involved in the decision.

Even if he was, he would have been smart enough to recognize how damaging the summary was, and would never have suggested it be released. I don't think he wants Trump gone, as much as he hates Trump. Trump is the base whisperer. Mitch needs him.

[NCLefty]

7. Who knows how deep Moscow Mitch has his grubby little hands after being there so long.

He could have "little birds" anywhere...

[tanyev]

9. The article I read said that he gave that advice after Trump told him there was nothing damaging

in the call. A beautiful perfect call, you know. Of course, Mitch should know better than to believe one damn thing Donald Trump says about himself.

[Mike 03]

10. McConnell is evil but he's not stupid

I believe this is part of his distancing the Senate GOP from Trump, along with the vote to terminate the state of emergency wall funding and unanimous decision to release the whistleblower report.

They've gotten all they're going to get out of Trump. He's damaged goods, he's going down, and they think they see a way to survive this calamity.

[gulliver]

11. Part of the Trump strategy is to claim the call is "perfect"

McConnell calling for the release of the call is not inconsistent with that strategy. They are protesting to brazenly argue that what Trump did in the call wasn't wrong. They know it is, but their strategy is to gaslight.