Trump thanks McConnell for his endorsement

Former President Trump thanked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for his endorsement in the presidential race Wednesday, saying he looks forward to working together. 

“Thank you, Mitch. I look forward to working with you and a Republican Senate MAJORITY to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 

McConnell endorsed Trump’s bid to return to the White House following years in which the two did not speak in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. He made his announcement just after former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, the last remaining major GOP opponent to Trump, dropped out of the race. 

“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States. It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support,” McConnell said in the announcement. 

He continued by saying he worked with Trump during his term on tax reform and remaking the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court, adding that he looked forward to no longer “playing defense against the terrible policies” of the Biden administration.

Trump and McConnell had a falling out over Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the events of Jan. 6, for which McConnell said Trump was “practically and morally responsible.” The Senate GOP leader ultimately decided against voting to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial but argued on the Senate floor that Trump could still face criminal liability or civil litigation. 

Trump has repeatedly criticized McConnell over the years and also targeted his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who resigned from her post in the Trump administration in the aftermath of Jan. 6. 

Senate Republicans told The Hill following the endorsement that McConnell’s decision was influenced by his goal of the GOP retaking control of the Senate in November. 

McConnell announced last week that he would step down as GOP leader in the chamber this coming November but would finish his term, which is set to end in 2027.