Trump Calls for Mitch McConnell to Be Removed as GOP Leader ‘Immediately’

This combination of pictures created on Feb. 16, 2021, shows then U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 27, 2020, and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Capitol Hill on Feb. 5, 2020. Saul Loeb, Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the immediate ouster of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) from his leadership position.

While commenting on an article about connections between McConnell’s wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and Chinese Communist Party-linked business ventures, the 45th president said McConnell needs to be removed from the Senate leadership spot that he’s long held.

“Mitch McConnell is not an Opposition Leader, he is a pawn for the Democrats to get whatever they want,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He is afraid of them, and will not do what has to be done. A new Republican Leader in the Senate should be picked immediately!”

Trump targeted McConnell, who he has called an “Old Crow,” following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. McConnell, who denounced Trump after the incident, has since rarely responded to Trump’s criticisms.

But recently, Trump ramped up criticism of McConnell and Chao after the Senate leader issued warnings about whether Republicans can take control of the Senate during the 2022 midterms, claiming “candidate quality” in certain races could be a problem. Later, McConnell told reporters that there is a 50 percent chance the GOP regains control of the Senate, which Democrats currently control by a razor-thin margin.

Last year, Trump said Republicans need to elect a new Senate GOP leader to boost their chances in the 2022 midterms.

“I think we’re going to do very well,” Trump said at the time. “We need good leadership. Mitch McConnell has not done a great job—I think they should change Mitch McConnell.”

In July, the former commander-in-chief pilloried McConnell’s support and affirmative vote on a gun control bill that would provide more federal funding to enforce red flag laws and other measures, which came after several high-profile mass shootings in Texas and New York.

The Epoch Times has contacted McConnell’s office on Trump’s recent comments.

Confident

Earlier this month, however, McConnell appeared undeterred by calls to oust him from the GOP leadership spot and expressed confidence he would be reelected regardless of how his party performs in the Senate.

“You could be looking, as I mentioned, J.D. Vance, Mehmet Oz, Ted Budd,“ Fox News’ host Brett Baier told McConnell. ”You have Trump-loyal Republicans like Eric Schmitt, who just won in Missouri, Blake Masters in Arizona, and some of those candidates have refused to say on the trail that they back you as leader.”

“Is that the new face of a ‘Trumpified’ Republican Party? And are you the guy to lead that in the Senate?” he asked the Kentucky Republican.

In response, McConnell said that he has “been elected eight times without opposition,” adding, “If I have an opponent—I don’t own this job, and there’s always an election every two years for leader—if anybody wants to challenge me, have at it.”