Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (L) (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (R) (D-NY) stand back to back in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and vowed to back primary opponents who support Trump’s agenda.
Trump’s tirade, which describes McConnell as a “dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack,” comes as the Senate GOP leader has publicly accused Trump of bearing responsibility for the deadly Capitol riot.
The statement from Trump, sent through his PAC just days after being acquitted in an unprecedented second impeachment trial, also comes amid a widening rift in the GOP about what role the former president ought to play in the party.
Seven Republican senators voted to convict Trump on one article of inciting the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol, making it the most bipartisan impeachment trial vote ever. But the votes for conviction fell below two thirds of the chamber, resulting in acquittal.
While McConnell voted “not guilty” in the impeachment trial, he has vocally denounced Trump’s conduct leading up to the Capitol riot. Minutes after the trial concluded, McConnell said on the Senate floor that Trump “is practically and morally responsible for provoking” the attack.
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