Date: 2024-07-17 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00020262
Us Politics
Chaos in the GOP
Trump is on a warpath to make McConnell's life a living hell
Peter Burgess
Home / Trump is on a warpath to make McConnell's life a living hell Trump is on a warpath to make McConnell's life a living hell Donald Trump speaking at CPAC 2011 in Washington, D.C., Gage Skidmore These conservatives are convinced Trump's hold on the GOP will fade — here's why Meaghan Ellis February 18, 2021 Former President Donald Trump may have been acquitted by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and most Republican lawmakers in the Senate but the former president is reportedly not pleased with the top-ranking lawmaker's scathing rebuke of his actions that led the U.S. Capitol insurrection. Now, according to The Hill, Trump is said to be on a warpath with the intent of retaliating against the Republican lawmaker and making his life 'miserable.' Trump reportedly has a 'political machine, which has $60 million in a super PAC and an unmatched grassroots fundraising apparatus is vowing to go aggressively after GOP lawmakers in primaries in the wake of an unprecedented feud between the nation's two most powerful Republicans.' Insiders close to the former president have revealed that he initially considered leaving the situation alone but after McConnell's critical op-ed of him was published in the Wall Street Journal after his acquittal, Trump decided to move forward with his initial plans. Jason Miller, one of Trump's senior advisers, weighed in with details about his plan to retaliate against the lawmakers who betrayed him. 'Our goal is to win back the House and Senate,' said Miller. 'We'll be looking at open seats, Democratic-held seats, and maybe there are places where we look for upgrades and more MAGA-friendly voices. I have no idea why McConnell decided to lash out at the president this way, but when you do, you can expect to get hit back.' One Republican consultant also explained how McConnell's actions subsequently made life more difficult for his colleagues. 'What he's done has made it more likely that members of his caucus will get primary challenges and he's undoubtedly made Rick Scott's job at the NRSC much more difficult,' that Republican consultant explained. 'It's a clear case of Leader McConnell putting his petty personal feud with Donald Trump ahead of the well-being of his Republican members in the Senate and it's unforgivable.'
Trump-loyalist lawmakers like Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) are also predicting a tough road ahead for lawmakers dubbed 'never-Trumpers' and 'anti-Trumpers.'
'If you're a never-Trumper, anti-Trump, kind of person, you're gonna have a tough time winning in a primary going forward — that's just the way it is,' Biggs said.
He added, 'President Trump still is the most potent Republican force and what should be happening is…as a party, you kind of revere and hold up your former head of your party, in this case the former president, as a standard-bearer,' Biggs said. 'You don't bury them, and you don't try to diss them and all of their supporters.'
However, some have pushed back against Trump's latest scare tactics noting the stark difference in his and McConnell's current positions. On Wednesday, McConnell's former advisor Josh Holmes appeared on Fox News where he offered a different perspective on what may come.
'[Trump's] not going to teach anything to Mitch McConnell about winning,' Holmes said. 'You'll recall the Senate had majorities — big majorities — when President Trump arrived. They had a House majority as well. When he left, they had neither.'
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