CV NEWS FEED // Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, has endorsed former President Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House.
The news broke just minutes after Trump’s sole remaining well-known intraparty challenger, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, announced she is suspending her campaign.
It also came a half-day after Trump posted a series of over a dozen commanding wins in states that held their nomination contests on Super Tuesday.
“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States,” McConnell told The Washington Post Wednesday morning.
“It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support,” he continued:
During his presidency, we worked together to accomplish great things for the American people including tax reform that supercharged our economy and a generational change of our federal judiciary — most importantly, the Supreme Court.
“I look forward to the opportunity of switching from playing defense against the terrible policies the Biden administration has pursued to a sustained offense geared towards making a real difference in improving the lives of the American people,” added the Kentucky Republican.
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Many observers suggested the development signaled that Trump is now effectively this year’s presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
They noted that McConnell’s endorsement represents the party’s consolidation around the former president, of whom the powerful senator has often been a staunch critic.
Three years ago, McConnell blamed Trump for the events of January 6, 2021. At the time, he called the then-incumbent president’s behavior “disgraceful.”
The Post indicated that the longtime lawmaker “is one of the most influential Washington Republicans to back Trump, and the endorsement was a remarkable, if expected, move.”
“[McConnell] has held out in recent weeks as other Republicans have lined up to back Trump, including many who wanted a different nominee,” the Post pointed out.
Furthermore, the Post reported that McConnell’s “endorsement means that almost every powerful cog in the Republican apparatus is directly behind the former president.”
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-SD, threw his support behind Trump late last month. The number-two-ranking Senate Republican, Thune is McConnell’s deputy and likely successor.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, endorsed Trump in November, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were still in the race.
Sen. Mike Braun, R-IN, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that his party’s conference leader was “right to endorse President Trump.”
In an interview with FOX Business, Braun added that the now-withdrawn Haley should do the same.
“When Mitch McConnell can do two and two very quickly, about getting behind Trump, we need that from Haley as well,” said Braun, who is running for Governor of Indiana.
FOX News hostess Laura Ingraham also appeared to commend McConnell’s decision to join the vast majority of the Republican Party in backing Trump,
“Remember all those people who said that Trump couldn’t unite the party?” she asked on X. “Thune and Mitch McConnell endorsed Trump for president.”
One week ago, McConnell stated that he will step down as Senate Republican leader at the end of the year. He has held this position since 2007.
“As I said on the Senate floor, one of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on,” he stated at the time.
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