Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell just said the quiet part out loud -- he's throwing Trump-endorsed Republican candidates under the campaign bus.
“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they're statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,” he said last week in Kentucky. “Right now, we have a 50-50 Senate and a 50-50 country, but I think when all is said and done this fall, we’re likely to have an extremely close Senate, either our side up slightly or their side up slightly.”
I suspect it's a calculation on McConnell's part that if Trump's candidates lose, it will end a 2024 presidential race. It’s despicable, but it’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from the Establishment wing of the party.
President Trump rightly called out McConnell.
"Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working Republican candidates for the United States Senate," he wrote on Truth Social. "This is such an affront to honor and to leadership. He should spend more time (and money!) helping them get elected, and less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China."
McConnell is behaving just like an old-school Establishment Republican. They expect conservatives to bend over backwards to campaign for the establishment. But when it comes to doing the same for conservatives, the establishment is nowhere to be found.
The same thing recently happened in Memphis. I'm a rock-solid conservative. I actively campaigned for conservative candidates. When the candidates I supported lost in the primary, I went out there and gave my support to the moderate nominees. I didn't like all of their policy positions, but their Democrat opponents were much worse.
One caveat - I refuse to support any Republican or Democrat who defends abortion.
On the other hand, the two top-of-the-ticket GOP candidates (both Establishment Republicans) refused to show up for the Lincoln Dinner - the local GOP's signature event. The reason? Paid consultants told them not to be in the same room with former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Establishment Republicans want your manpower to put up signs and knock on doors. They want your cash. And they want you to shut up and vote for their pre-ordained candidates.
And conservatives are doing the same thing.
I don't care if you are conservative or establishment -- how about some party loyalty? How about defending the party platform? How about defending the former president who made this nation great again?
I understand McConnell is hurt by MAGA World, but stopping the progressives from turning this nation into a godless, third-world socialist hellhole is a smidge more important than his ego or sipping cocktails at the country club.