Will McConnnell, who denounced Trump, now endorse him? Allies say talks under way

President Donald Trump speaks as he stands next Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., after their meeting at the White House, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Washington. (

WASHINGTON – Associates to Donald Trump and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell have had conversations about a possible endorsement of the former president – a move that would be a sharp about-face for McConnell, who denounced Trump in scathing terms after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The discussions were confirmed by two Republicans close to the two men. Both said the conversations were ongoing. When asked about a possible endorsement by reporters on Tuesday, McConnell simply said “I don’t have any announcement about that today.”

Trump and McConnell have not even spoken since 2020, and have frequently attacked each other in public.

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McConnell all but blamed Trump for the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, although the Kentucky Republican also voted to acquit the former president of impeachment charges related to that violent effort to block the election of President Joe Biden.

Trump’s election protests leading up to Jan. 6 were “a disgraceful dereliction of duty,” McConnell said after the trial, and there was no question that Trump “is practically and morally responsible for provoking” the violence of that day.

Yet McConnell is also a consummate party man, and repeatedly suggested he would back the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.

McConnell plays ‘the long game’

Trump has attacked McConnell for what he calls a lack of loyalty. His attacks have included racist comments about McConnell’s wife Elaine Chao, who served Trump as Commerce Secretary but resigned in the wake of the Jan. 6 violence.

Yet as recently as last week, Trump said he expects to receive McConnell’s endorsement.

Those in McConnell’s orbit admit to being frustrated by Trump’s previous personal attacks aimed at the senator, particularly the attacks on Chao.

Those allies and advisers, however, emphasize that McConnell plays the “long game” and has larger policy goals in mind.

“Not everybody in politics has to be best friends,” the source close to McConnell said.

Trump and McConnell aides declined to discuss a potential endorsement, though two officials did say conversations have taken place.

The Trump campaign sent out a statement that he “is the presumptive nominee and it is time for the entire party to coalesce behind him.”

The statement added that “senior members of the campaign have many conversations, but only engage with those who are actually willing to fight for America First principles and to take back the White House.”

A famously icy relationship

That may or may not apply for McConnell who remains the highest-ranking Republican who has not yet endorsed Trump – and the pair have had a famously icy relationship.

They haven’t spoken since December 2020, when McConnell acknowledged President Joe Biden as the rightful winner of that year’s presidential election. After Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, McConnell delivered a scathing speech saying “the people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.”

Yet Trump himself discussed the potential endorsement during the South Carolina primary campaign, saying he expects a McConnell endorsement soon despite their disputes over the years.

During a Fox News town hall in Greenville, S.C., Trump noted that several McConnell allies in the Senate have already endorsed him: “Almost, you know, getting close to the entire Senate … He (McConnell) will probably end up endorsing me, also.”

Trump has also criticized McConnell, and during last week’s town hall that “I don’t know that I can work with him.”

Asked during the Fox News town hall what role McConnell might play in a second term, Trump speculated the Senate GOP leader might relinquish his title.

“I don’t know what his status would be,” Trump said. “I think he probably at some point will pull over if I win.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will McConnnell, who denounced Trump, now endorse him? Allies say talks under way