Former president Donald Trump continued his post-midterms tirade late Friday, attacking Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell over the GOP’s dwindling chances of retaking the upper chamber after Republican Blake Masters lost the race for U.S. Senate in Arizona.
“Mitch McConnell, the Republicans Broken Down Senate Leader, does nothing about this. He’s too busy spending vast amounts of money on bad Senator Lisa [Murkowski] of Alaska, when Kelly [Tshibaka] is FAR better,” Trump said.
He went on to criticize McConnell for not working to overturn the 2020 presidential election and for allowing Demcrats to raise the debt ceiling.
“He is the WORST!” Trump said of McConnell, who has led Republicans in the Senate since 2007.
Trump’s comment comes as several Senate Republicans have suggested the party should delay its leadership elections next week. Control of the Senate now hinges on the race in Nevada between Republican Adam Laxalt and Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and the race in Georgia between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker. The race in Georgia is headed to a runoff next month after neither candidate secured 50 percent of the vote.
Senator Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) said Friday that the leadership vote “should be postponed.” Senator Cynthia Lummis (R., Wyo.) and Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) both agreed. Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) similarly wrote on Twitter that it “makes no sense for Senate to have leadership elections before GA runoff.”
After Republicans underperformed expectations in the midterms, Trump has been on the warpath, with many in the party suggesting his reign has come to an end.
Earlier on Friday, Trump claimed responsibility for Republican governor Glenn Youngkin’s win in Virginia in 2021.
“Young Kin (now that’s an interesting take. Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?) in Virginia couldn’t have won without me. I Endorsed him, did a very big Trump rally telephonically, got MAGA to Vote for him- or he couldn’t have come close to winning. But he knows that, and admits it,” Trump wrote on Truth social.
Trump lashed out at Ron DeSantis one day earlier after the New York Post published covers criticizing Trump and lauding the Florida governor.
“NewsCorp, which is Fox, the Wall Street Journal, and the no longer great New York Post (bring back Col!), is all in for Governor Ron DeSanctimonious, an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations, who didn’t have to close up his State, but did, unlike other Republican Governors, whose overall numbers for a Republican, were just average — middle of the pack — including COVID, and who has the advantage of SUNSHINE, where people from badly run States up North would go no matter who the Governor was, just like I did!” Trump said in a statement.
Trump went on to say that his endorsement of DeSantis in 2017 served as a “nuclear weapon” going off, propelling DeSantis to the top of the GOP primary for Florida governor.
Trump’s attacks on potential 2024 contenders come as he is expected to announce his own run for president next week, although he has reportedly been advised to postpone the announcement given the GOP’s poor midterm performance.