‘It’s not just the Democrats who are counting the days’: Real-life supervillain Mitch McConnell hints Trump’s days might be numbered as he plots to put his mob back in power

You know it’s bad when real-life supervillain Mitch McConnell has nothing nice to say about you.

US Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell may have a long and storied history of doing his best to destroy democracy, whether that be by voting to overturn the Barack Obama-era Affordable Care Act, fighting gun safety regulations, or even posing in front of a Confederate battle flag—all things he never apologized for, mind you.

But even though the Kentucky senator seems hellbent on dismantling virtually any system that aims to protect Americans’ wellbeing, it seems like he, at one point, had some very strong words for Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump.

Mitch McConnell blasted “stupid” and “narcissistic” Trump following 2020 election

Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief of The Associated Press, has a new book coming out later this month titled “The Price of Power,” which will serve as “the first definitive biography of Mitch McConnell.” Along with recounting the oral history of McConnell’s nearly 40-year career in public service, the book also includes several quotes from the senator’s particularly tumultuous last few years in office.

And one such quote seems to back up the belief that Trump and McConnell aren’t exactly chummy with each other. According Tackett’s book (per the AP), McConnell remarked in private that the then-president was “stupid as well as being ill-tempered,” calling him a “despicable human being” and a “narcissist” on the heels of the 2021 US Capitol insurrection. McConnell also stated, “it’s not just the Democrats who are counting the days” until Trump left office. Tell us how you really feel, Mitch!

Mitch McConnell wants to work it out on the remix, but does Donald Trump feel the same?

Again, tensions between Trump and McConnell are well documented, with the former having recognized Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election and denouncing Trump for his role in the “morally responsible” events that took place on January 6. Trump, predictably enough, fired back, dubbing McConnell a “dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack” in 2021.

Remarkably enough, however, McConnell flip-flopped on his anti-Trump tirade earlier this year when he publicly endorsed Trump for president. Can’t teach an old dog new tricks, can you? It’s just self-masochism at this point, really.

Following this report, McConnell is already bending over backwards to save face—after all, Trump is a formidable foe to have. Even so, McConnell’s loyalties lie with the GOP, not a single candidate, so he doesn’t necessarily have to like the guy. And given that McConnell will step down as Republican leader come 2026, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he wants to go out on a high note, as he hopes to put his party back in the majority as opposed to Vice President Kamala Harris’ more progressive administration.

All this to say that politics are a truly baffling demonstration of the mental gymnastics that take place in Washington on the daily. McConnell clearly harbors ill feelings towards Trump, but understands that he has to play the long game for Republicans to win back seats—in response to Tackett’s book, he told the AP on Thursday, “we are all on the same team now,” signaling that he’s more than willing to set aside his bad blood with Trump (or so we think). But if there’s one thing ol’ McConnell should know by now, it’s that Trump probably won’t return the favor.

For those interested in reading, “The Price of Power” hits shelves on October 29, 2024.