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McConnell calls for ‘a more thoughtful Trump’

by Jesse Byrnes - 06/01/16 8:50 AM ET

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says he would like to see “a more thoughtful” and “scripted” version of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“Do I agree with a lot of things Trump says? No. But I know one thing for sure, he will go in a different direction [compared to Democrats],” McConnell said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

{mosads}”I’d like to see a more thoughtful Trump,” the Senate leader said when asked whether he thought the separation of powers would serve as a check on a possible President Trump.

Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks in media appearances and speeches have irked some Republicans, who say he should focus on more specifics heading into the general election.

McConnell said he ran into Trump in the green room at the National Rifle Association convention last month. He said the billionaire read from a script but told him, “I hate scripts, they’re boring.”

“Put me down for boring, I’m in the boring caucus,” McConnell responded.

The senator acknowledged that the scripted part of the speech “was boring,” but insisted he wanted to see a pivot toward “a more scripted candidate.”

“Trump, whether you like him or not, won it,” McConnell said, adding he wasn’t interested in “lecturing” voters. “I think he’s earned the nomination.”

McConnell has been doing a round of media interviews to promote his new memoir. He reiterated to Yahoo News on Tuesday his opposition to Trump’s rhetoric on Muslims, saying, “I don’t like it at all.”

Tags Donald Trump Mitch McConnell