Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that GOP prospects for keeping control of the Senate after the November elections are “very dicey,” sounding an alarm amid mounting Republican concerns about presidential nominee Donald Trump, the AP reports.
When asked by a reporter about Trump’s comments labeling President Obama as the “founder” of the Islamic State group, McConnell replied: “I’m hoping that we can make this election about Hillary Clinton. I think if we do, we can win.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “waded into the controversy surrounding Donald Trump and his dismissive comments toward a Muslim-American couple whose son was killed during the Iraq War,” Politico reports.
Said McConnell: “Captain Khan was an American hero, and like all Americans, I’m grateful for the sacrifices that selfless young men like Capt. Khan and their families have made in the war on terror. All Americans should value the patriotic service of the patriots who volunteer to selflessly defend us in the armed services.”
He added: “As I have long made clear, I agree with the Khans and families across the country that a travel ban on all members of a religion is simply contrary to American values.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told NY1 that he still has reservations about Donald Trump.
Said McConnell: “Trump clearly needs to change, in my opinion, to win the general election. What I’ve said to him both publicly and privately: ‘You’re a great entertainer. You turn on audiences. You’re good before a crowd. You have a lot of Twitter followers. That worked fine for you in the primaries. But now that you are in the general, people are looking for a level of seriousness that is typically conveyed by having a prepared text and Teleprompter and staying on message.’ So my hope is that he is beginning to pivot and become what I would call a more serious and credible candidate for the highest office in the land.”
When asked if Trump met a threshold of credibility, McConnell said: “He’s getting closer. Getting closer.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell hedged on whether he considered Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, as qualified for the job, saying he would “leave that to the American people to decide,” Politico reports.
Said McConnell: “You know, he won the Republican nomination fair and square. He got more votes than anybody else against a whole lot of well-qualified candidates. And so our primary voters have made their decision as to who they want to be the nominee. The American people will be able to make that decision in the fall.”
“It’s no secret that he’s struggling. I’ve endorsed him because he’s earned the nomination, but he needs to start acting like a serious candidate for president if he wants to win the election.”
— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), talking about Donald Trump in an interview on the Kick Ass Politics podcast.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “cut the legs out from a bipartisan effort to keep suspected terrorists from buying guns,” The Hill reports.
“In doing so, McConnell, a master of the Senate’s arcane rules, provided cover for vulnerable Republicans who wanted to be seen as supporting the effort, but did not want to cross the National Rifle Association.”
New York Times: “The solution was a procedural maneuver by which the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, scheduled the bill for a vote on a motion to table it. By voting not to table it, Republicans could keep it alive without advancing or defeating it outright — putting it in a sort of legislative purgatory.”
“If anybody can get his senators to all agree to go over a cliff and kill themselves, that’s pretty good. Boy, I will tell you that guy has a lot more sway with his caucus than I ever had. If I ever suggested something as absurd and bizarre as that to my caucus, they would revote and kick the hell out of me out of the caucus. I mean, really.”
— Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), quoted by the New York Times, on Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) effort to prevent even a hearing for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid went on a tear ahead of a meeting that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other GOP leaders were planning with Donald Trump, Roll Call reports.
Said Reid: “When they get together, they can talk about their policies about being anti-woman. Since Sen. McConnell has so enthusiastically embraced Trump, we can only assume he agrees with Trump’s view that women are dogs and pigs.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told Bloomberg that Donald Trump needs to pick an experienced running mate because “he doesn’t know a lot about the issues.”
Said McConnell: “He needs someone highly experienced and very knowledgeable because it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t know a lot about the issues. You see that in the debates in which he’s participated. It’s why I have argued to him publicly and privately that he ought to use a script more often—there is nothing wrong with having prepared texts.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said it was “stupid” for Donald Trump to single out a judge’s Mexican heritage and said the Republican presidential candidate should apologize and “get on script,” McClatchy reports.
He did not, though, back away from supporting the New York real estate magnate.
“This is a choice that many Americans are not happy with. But it is the choice.”
— Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), in an interview with KSKY, saying the presidential election is a choice between the “lesser of two evils.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told WBAL-AM that he is bothered by Donald Trump’s use of personal insults.
Said McConnell: “I think that ought to stop. I don’t think it adds any value whatsoever to the discourse. It is something about him that I don’t care for.”
“Some people have said our nominee is too controversial and that will cause you problems. But by the way, the Democratic nominee is pretty controversial, too. The negatives on both these candidates at the moment are stunningly high. It’ll be interesting to see whose negatives are the highest.”
— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by USA Today, adding that it would be a “mistake” for Republicans to distance themselves from Trump.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that our system will prevent any “big mistakes” if Donald Trump becomes president, TPM reports.
Said McConnell: “Well, one thing I’m pretty calm about is that this is nowhere near the most divisive period in American history. But what protects us in this country against big mistakes being made is the structure, the Constitution, the institutions.”
He added: “No matter how unusual a personality may be who gets elected to office, there are constraints in this country. You don’t get to do anything you want to.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that he will back Donald Trump as the presumptive nominee, declaring he can stop “a third term of Barack Obama,” The Hill reports.
Said McConnell: “I have committed to supporting the nominee chosen by Republican voters, and Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee, is now on the verge of clinching the nomination.”
He added: “As the presumptive nominee, he now has the opportunity and the obligation to unite our party around our goals.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “is urging Republican delegates to focus on a single politician: Barack Obama,” the AP reports.
“McConnell focused nearly all of his speech during Saturday’s Kentucky Republican Convention on opposing the outgoing Democratic president. Not mentioned were any of the potential Republican alternatives, who are embroiled in a nasty fight over delegates heading into a possible chaotic national convention this summer.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) rejected Donald Trump’s complaints that the GOP presidential process is “rigged,” the Washington Examiner reports.
Said McConnell: “So there are some candidates suggesting that it’s somehow tricky to simply follow the rules of the convention.”
He added: “When a nominee gets to a majority, he will actually be the candidate. If he doesn’t, there will be a second ballot and about 60 percent of the delegates who are bound on the first ballot will be free to do what they want on the second ballot. And I’m increasingly optimistic that there actually may be a second ballot.”
Sen. Ted Cruz “doubled down on an accusation that Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell lied to him, all the while insisting that he would work well with congressional leadership,” NBC News reports.
Said Cruz: “Every word I said there is true and accurate. No one disputed a word I said. The reaction in the Senate is how dare you say that out loud? They’re not upset that somebody lied to them!”
First Read: “But do realize that Team Cruz is going to need the party insiders to prevail over Donald Trump?”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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