Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who took his turn hosting the Senate Republicans’ luncheon on Thursday, the week of the Kentucky Derby, gave members bottles of Old Crow bourbon in a nod to the nickname former President Trump frequently uses for him.
The former president has repeatedly criticized McConnell — including on his efforts to support the bipartisan infrastructure law and a deal he negotiated to help Senate Democrats raise the debt ceiling — dubbing the Kentucky Republican “Old Crow.”
McConnell has previously laughed off Trump’s statements, including in an interview with the Washington Examiner, telling the news outlet it was his favorite bourbon, as well as 19th century Kentucky Sen. Henry Clay’s.
“Aren’t we using Old Crow as my moniker now?” McConnell quipped.
A spokesman for McConnell tweeted a photo from the luncheon, showing take-home gifts including Kentucky Derby pie and bottles of the whiskey with the label altered to include a photo of the GOP leader.
The development comes more than a week since news outlets reported about a passage in a new book that quoted McConnell as saying the day after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, that he felt “exhilarated by the fact that this fellow finally, totally discredited himself.”
“He put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger,” McConnell said, according to the book. “Couldn’t have happened at a better time.”
Senators interviewed by The Hill have said that the Kentucky Republican has been quiet about his relationship with the former president since Trump left office. However, McConnell has said he would back Trump again in 2024 should he become the GOP nominee.