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After confirmation votes, Trump's offensive against McConnell gets uglier
It seemed hard to imagine the president's relationship with the Kentucky senator getting much worse. Then Trump questioned whether McConnell had polio.
After confirmation votes, POS Trump’s offensive against McConnell gets uglier
— Turquoise Cat ✌ï¸ðŸ’™ðŸ˜» (@turquoise-cat.bsky.social) 2025-02-14T17:41:19.072Z
It seemed hard to imagine the president's relationship with the Kentucky senator getting much worse. Then POS Trump questioned whether McConnell had polio.
After confirmation votes, POS Trump’s offensive against McConnell gets uglier
It seemed hard to imagine the president's relationship with the Kentucky senator getting much worse. Then POS Trump questioned whether McConnell had polio.
It seemed hard to imagine the president's relationship with the Kentucky senator getting much worse. Then POS Trump questioned whether McConnell had polio.
Link to tweet
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/confirmation-votes-trumps-offensive-mcconnell-gets-uglier-rcna192220
After Trump’s defeat in the 2020 elections, the relationship deteriorated further: Trump condemned McConnell as a corrupt “hack,” targeted his wife, practically begged GOP senators to oust him from his leadership role, said McConnell “has a DEATH WISH” for disagreeing with Trump’s legislative strategies, and told The New York Times, on the record, that he considered McConnell to be “a piece of s---.”......
The other way to see McConnell’s shift is to acknowledge the fact that his sudden independent streak is far too late to matter, and it’s also proven inconsequential as Trump’s worst nominees cleared the Senate anyway. It’s easy to do the right thing in key moments when it doesn’t involve paying a price or making a practical difference.
Relatedly, the longtime senator has had plenty of opportunities to rid his party of Trump, and in each instance, he’s demurred. As my MSNBC colleague Ja’han Jones recently noted, McConnell has arguably been “among the biggest enablers of Donald Trump’s rise in the Republican Party and American politics.”.....
But just as important is the degree to which Trump appears furious, knowing that he no longer has any leverage over McConnell, leading to ugly breakdowns. After the senator rejected RFK Jr.’s ridiculous nomination, the president told reporters that McConnell is “not equipped mentally.”
Reminded that McConnell is a polio survivor, making his vote against Kennedy something of a no-brainer, Trump apparently questioned whether the senator actually had polio.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3li3jiqvzhs2q
......“I’m a survivor of childhood polio,” McConnell’s statement read. “In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles.
“Individuals, parents, and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness. But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts. ... Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America’s largest health agency.”
McConnell was right, of course, though none of his GOP colleagues followed his lead, and for his trouble, he faced a new round of condemnations from his party’s president. They probably weren’t the last.
The other way to see McConnell’s shift is to acknowledge the fact that his sudden independent streak is far too late to matter, and it’s also proven inconsequential as Trump’s worst nominees cleared the Senate anyway. It’s easy to do the right thing in key moments when it doesn’t involve paying a price or making a practical difference.
Relatedly, the longtime senator has had plenty of opportunities to rid his party of Trump, and in each instance, he’s demurred. As my MSNBC colleague Ja’han Jones recently noted, McConnell has arguably been “among the biggest enablers of Donald Trump’s rise in the Republican Party and American politics.”.....
But just as important is the degree to which Trump appears furious, knowing that he no longer has any leverage over McConnell, leading to ugly breakdowns. After the senator rejected RFK Jr.’s ridiculous nomination, the president told reporters that McConnell is “not equipped mentally.”
Reminded that McConnell is a polio survivor, making his vote against Kennedy something of a no-brainer, Trump apparently questioned whether the senator actually had polio.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3li3jiqvzhs2q
Link to tweet
......“I’m a survivor of childhood polio,” McConnell’s statement read. “In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles.
“Individuals, parents, and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness. But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts. ... Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America’s largest health agency.”
McConnell was right, of course, though none of his GOP colleagues followed his lead, and for his trouble, he faced a new round of condemnations from his party’s president. They probably weren’t the last.
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