Trump says he ‘heard’ McConnell wants to endorse him

Former President Trump on Sunday claimed that he has “heard” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) “wants” to endorse his White House bid despite the frequent tension between the two men.

“Sunday Morning Futures” anchor Maria Bartiromo asked Trump in an interview how he would work with McConnell, who she described as “massively anti-Trump,” should the former president win a second term.

Trump interjected, “I think Mitch McConnell wants to endorse me. That’s what I hear.”

“I have more than half of the Republicans … have already endorsed me, and the rest are coming in,” Trump said. “I don’t know if he’s going to endorse me, I just heard he wants to endorse me.”

The Hill reached out to McConnell’s office for comment.

Republicans in the House and Senate have increasingly thrown their support behind Trump in recent weeks following his consecutive primary wins in Iowa and New Hampshire. Several GOP members have argued the party should support Trump in full to show unity ahead of the November election.

The pressure ramped up on McConnell following Trump’s victory in New Hampshire, which prompted Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an ally of McConnell’s and a member of Senate GOP leadership, to endorse the former president.

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a counsel to McConnell and another member of his leadership, also endorsed Trump after previously being uncommitted in the GOP race.

McConnell’s relationship with Trump, or lack thereof, is no secret, as the ex-president has consistently criticized the GOP leader since his 2020 reelection loss, with McConnell taking the occasional jab of his own.

The former president on Sunday contended his main GOP challenger, Nikki Haley, does not have any endorsements from the Senate.

“Everybody’s getting in line, they’re all getting on board,” Trump said. “And they also see the fact that we’ve changed the Republican Party; the Republican Party under Trump has become a tremendous success.”

National polling indexes from The Hill and Decision Desk HQ show Trump with a 57.2 point lead over the former South Carolina governor, while the former president has a 30.8 point lead in Haley’s home state, which is slated to hold its primary later this month.