McConnell wrestles with difficult move: Endorsing Trump

Pressure is mounting on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as he lays the groundwork to do what was unthinkable just a year ago: endorsing former President Trump for president in 2024. 

Trump’s victory in South Carolina on Saturday further strengthened his grip on the GOP and has put McConnell in a bind. He held out as long as he could before it emerged Monday that his and Trump’s teams are discussing a possible endorsement.

A show of support would be the culmination of the pair’s roller coaster history and puts the longtime GOP leader in a spot he likely did not imagine as he watched Trump’s ignominious exit from Washington. 

“No, I don’t think it would be easy,” one Senate Republican told The Hill about McConnell potentially taking that step. “But he’s a pragmatist and at the end, he’d rather have a Republican or Republican policies.” 

“I don’t know if his political mind can overcome the personal [issues] enough. If anybody can do it, he can probably do it,” the Senate GOP member added.  

Reports emerged this week, and The Hill confirmed, that Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign manager, and Josh Holmes, McConnell’s top political hand, had been discussing a potential endorsement. 

Thirty-two Senate Republicans, representing almost two-thirds of the conference, have officially endorsed Trump. That includes four of the five members of McConnell’s leadership team, increasing the pressure on the longtime GOP leader to do the same. 

“You’ve got two choices now. It’s clear that Trump is going to be our Republican nominee … We have Trump or Biden,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), an early backer of the ex-president who is also part of Sen. John Thune’s (R-S.D.) whip team. “I think it’s only smart for the Republicans to come together and say, ‘This is our nominee. This is who we’re going to support.’” 

“Where’s our conference at?” Mullin added, noting the strong numbers behind Trump. “It shows unity in our conference.” 

Republican lawmakers believe McConnell has one big reason to potentially get behind the former president’s campaign: to help GOP Senate candidates as he seeks to retake the majority. 

McConnell and Sen. Steve Daines (Mont.), the head of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, have recruited a number of the party’s top candidates in high-priority seats. Daines, who endorsed Trump early last year, has worked hand in glove with Trump to either clear the field in some states or give their preferred candidate an easier path to victory.

“He’ll look past a load of shit to improve the path to the majority,” a second Senate GOP member said. “That’d be the one reason why Mitch would rise above principle and do the politically expedient thing … because he is hellbent on getting the majority, and he’ll make personal sacrifices for that.” 

Others agree.

“There would be no other reason,” the first Senate Republican said. 

Daines has been part of the crowd trying to get the two to bury the hatchet. He said in a statement that he is “encouraging the Republican Party to unite” behind Trump, adding that it “will take all of us” to win in November.

McConnell on Tuesday declined to wade into the endorsement discussions, telling reporters, “I don’t have any announcement about that today.” He has said in the past that he will support the eventual Republican nominee. 

An endorsement, however, could come after Super Tuesday as Trump moves closer to wrapping up the primary race over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

When asked about McConnell during a town hall last week, Trump told Fox News that the Kentucky Republican would “probably end up endorsing” him, but he indicated he wasn’t sure the two could work together again. 

“I don’t know that I can work with him,” Trump said. “He gave away trillions of dollars that he didn’t have to, trillions of dollars. He made it very easy for the Democrats.”

Trump and McConnell are believed to have not spoken in more than three years, after McConnell angered Trump by declaring him “practically and morally responsible” for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. McConnell also considered voting to convict the ex-president in his second impeachment trial, but ultimately argued that the judicial system was a better arena to hold Trump responsible for his actions.  

In the intervening years, Trump’s rhetoric has grown increasingly hostile against McConnell and has targeted his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. The first Senate Republican said those barbs would be tough for McConnell to overcome. 

“It’s not like either one of them kept it hidden,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said about their shared animosity. 

McConnell is by no means the only member of the GOP conference withholding his support.

Over the weekend one of the most prominent remaining holdouts, Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican who has taken heat from Trump over the years, made his endorsement official.

But Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) told Punchbowl News that he does not “intend” to back the former president, while Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) will remain on the sidelines as well. Ernst is the only other member of leadership not to endorse Trump.

A potential endorsement is being viewed by some Trump backers as a classic McConnell move despite their extended history of bad blood.

“Remember, the long game,” Cramer said, referring to McConnell’s oft-stated focus that doubled as the title of his memoir. “He’s able to see through it all … Mitch is a very practical guy. He’s a very pragmatic leader. Mitch has the great blessing of not taking things personally. He’s not easily personally offended. At least if he is, he doesn’t demonstrate it.” 

“Remember, he loves the fact that he’s called ‘Cocaine Mitch’ or ‘Old Crow,’” Cramer added, the latter of which was part of an oft-used Trump criticism. “He seizes on those things.”