Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and former President Donald Trump sought reconciliation on Thursday to end a long-standing feud, as Republicans grow more confident they can take control of both chambers of Congress and the White House this fall.
It was initially unclear whether McConnell would attend the lunch hosted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) with Trump, as the two leaders have been feuding for more than three years over Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election.
Their relationship hit a low point in 2022 when Trump declared he had a “death wish” on McConnell for his support of bipartisan legislation and mocked his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, as McConnell’s “China-loving wife” and “Coco Chou.”
Still, McConnell sat close to Trump at a large rectangular table with a red tablecloth, and applauded warmly when Republican senators presented him with a birthday cake on the eve of his 78th birthday.
The cake was topped with two candles, shaped like the numbers 45 and 47, to commemorate Trump’s first term in office and reflect Senate Republicans’ hope that Trump would become the 47th leader of the United States.
McConnell spoke fondly to reporters about the luncheon, saying he had the opportunity to speak with Trump and shake his hand on several occasions.
“It was a very positive meeting. Mr. Trump and I had a brief chat and I had a chance to shake hands a few times,” McConnell told reporters after the meeting, adding that Mr. Trump received multiple standing ovations.
“It was a completely positive meeting,” he added. “I can’t think of anything that I would say was negative.”
Senators said Trump sought to praise McConnell to his colleagues despite his repeated calls to oust McConnell from his position as Senate Republican leader after he opposed Trump’s efforts to block the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
“The president spoke very well of Mitch and the efforts he made to bring the conference together,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Ky.) said. “It was very complimentary.”
Another Republican senator who attended the meeting said Trump was generously trying to bury an accountability fight that erupted between Trump and McConnell’s allies after Senate Republicans lost seats in the 2022 midterm elections.
“He said about 2022, ‘Mitch, it’s not your fault that we lost a Senate seat, and it’s not my fault,'” said the senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
“That was a great thing. And then he said, ‘I know, Mitch, you always [Senate] Republican. Given the history of their relationship, it [Trump] “It was truly a reconciliation and it was a very warm feeling,” the congressman said.
This is a marked change of tone from after the midterm elections, when President Trump urged Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida to challenge Sen. McConnell.
At the time, Trump slammed McConnell as a “terrible leader” and declared that “people are very angry at Mitch McConnell.”
Despite Trump’s tactics, McConnell handily defeated Scott by a 36-10 vote in a hastily organized race.
The senator said Trump’s generous comments to McConnell on Thursday were intended to rally Republican unity ahead of the fall elections and reflected his confidence in winning a power struggle with his Republican critics in the Senate.
“I think Trump won and Mitch lost. Mitch wanted Trump in jail. Not only did that not happen, Trump became the nominee. The footage speaks for itself. Trump came to this meeting and Mitch was purposely to his right, [Senate Republican Whip] John Toon [R-S.D.] “They purposely choose to sit to his left, because they want to be seen with him,” the councilman said of the seating arrangement at the meeting.
A video of the meeting posted online by the Trump campaign showed McConnell sitting to Trump’s right, with Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) sitting between them.
A third senator said Trump had gone out of his way to praise or mention McConnell by name.
The congressman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the meeting, said Trump “was trying to appear positive toward Mitch” and “never mentioned any differences.”
Senate Republicans expressed relief Thursday that they were moving beyond the bitter feud that has hovered in the Senate Republican Conference since December 2020, when McConnell and Trump last met.
Republican senators have said they hope whoever replaces McConnell as Senate Republican leader will be able to forge a better relationship with Trump, who they are confident will defeat Biden in the November election.
Mr Taborville said that during a private meeting in March Mr Thun acknowledged that “you can’t have a bad relationship with Mr Trump, otherwise you can’t be a leader”.
Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is running to succeed McConnell as party leader, have both criticized Trump in the past.
But Thune and Cornyn are now stressing to Republican senators that they would work closely with Trump if elected leader.
Scott, who is also running to replace McConnell, is a staunch supporter of President Trump and recently visited Manhattan to voice his support at Trump’s criminal trial on 34 charges of falsifying business records.
Senate Republicans say working closely with Trump is crucial to winning in key Senate battleground states such as Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Republican Senate strategists point out that in the last two presidential elections, only one incumbent senator has won in a state where their party’s presidential candidate lost: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who won reelection in 2020 even though Biden won her state with 53% of the vote.
“President Trump is going to do very well in these important battleground states, and he needs to win these states to win the presidential election. We will be working with President Trump on these races to ensure his victory and to ensure our Senate candidates win, because without a Republican majority in the Senate, President Trump won’t be able to pass his policies,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who co-hosted Thursday’s meeting with Trump.
Trump promised Republican senators he would help raise funds and hold televised town halls with GOP candidates to shore up support among his base, according to senators who attended the meeting.
“He said he’s willing to be involved and will do everything he can to help us,” Daines said after the meeting.
