Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday told reporters that he wasn’t interested in getting into a food fight with former President Trump when asked about Trump’s comments that McConnell was a “dumb son of a bitch.”
Trump blasted his former ally as a “dumb son of a bitch” and a “stone cold loser” at an event with Republican donors at his Mar-a-Lago resort Saturday night, the same weekend he received a Champion of Freedom Award from the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Asked about Trump’s insult coinciding with Senate Republicans giving the former president an award, McConnell said he’s not focusing on the president’s scorn.
“What I’m concentrating on is the future, and what we are confronted with here is a totally left-wing administration — with a slight majority in the House, a 50-50 Senate — trying to transform America into something no one voted for last year,” McConnell told reporters.
“That’s what I’m concentrating on,” he said, ignoring a follow-up question on Trump.
McConnell also declined on Monday to address Trump’s scathing attack when asked about it in a Capitol hallway before a late afternoon vote.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said Tuesday that Republicans hope Trump will put to rest what he called the “one-sided” feud with McConnell.
“I wish he wouldn’t do it, but I don’t think there’s any way that you could change how he does things. I think we just have to adapt the best we can and stay focused on what are our objectives, and that’s get the majority back in 2022,” he said.
Thune said he’s “hoping the president and leader at some point can come to an understanding.”
“Right now, it’s sort of a one-sided thing. The leader has no animosity, and he’s made it very clear he wants to work with the president to get the majority back,” he added.