Trump And McConnell Have First Face-To-Face Meeting In Four Years

(RepublicanReport.org) – Just one month after the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered a speech on the Senate floor. In that speech, he said then-President Donald Trump was “morally responsible” for the attack, accusing his actions as a “disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty.” The senator’s words drew ire from the now-former president, with Trump calling him and his wife names online. There has been silence between the two politicians ever since — until now.

On June 13, Trump returned to Washinton, DC — near Capitol Hill — to speak with GOP legislators, including McConnell. According to Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), the former president walked over to the minority leader first and shook his hand — McConnell welcomed the gesture. Trump then apparently patted McConnell on the back. Hawley said there were “no little barbs” between the two, “which would [have been] easy to do.”

The Kentucky legislator spoke to the press before the event, stating that he previously committed to backing the Republican nominee “regardless of who it was, including him” — meaning Trump. McConnell then confirmed he would be at the meeting in Washington, DC, with the former president. Despite the controversy surrounding Trump and the harsh feedback he’s received from several members of the GOP in the Senate, Hawley said “almost” everybody present at the meeting was “happy to be with [Trump]”

The former president, over the last few years, has been a harsh critic of McConnell, accusing him of “killing the Republican Party through weakness and cowardice.” He also called the senator’s wife “crazy” and referred to her as McConnell’s “China-loving wife, Coco Chow” many times.

Despite the insults against himself and his family, the Kentucky senator has made it clear that he backs Trump for the GOP presidential nomination because that’s who the voters chose to represent them in the White House. It’s unclear if the meeting is a sign of the Republican Party uniting behind the former president.