McConnell said he will no longer be cowed by Trump’s endorsements and vowed instead to “actively” seek “quality candidates” for 2024.
“Here’s what I think has changed: I think the former president’s political clout has diminished,” McConnell flatly stated.
Trump’s fading power is making Republicans “less inclined to accept cards that may be dealt to us,” McConnell said.
McConnell blamed Trump for damaging the party’s image among crucial independent and swing voters. He said the GOP underperformed in “every state” in the midterms — including the red state of Ohio, which Republicans narrowly won — and called its performance “fatal” in Arizona, New Hampshire and Georgia.
“We lost support that we needed among independents and moderate Republicans, primarily related to the view they had of us as a party — largely made by the former president — that we were sort of nasty and tended toward chaos,” McConnell said.
Trump has not yet responded to McConnell’s comments.
Check out more of the McConnell interview below:
