McConnell on his previous Trump comments: 'We are all on the same team now'

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) responded to previous comments he allegedly made about former President Trump after the 2020 election, citing pre-existing tensions between the two. Despite this, he hinted that they are currently on “the same team.”

“Nothing I say about President Trump can be compared to what J.D. Vance, Lindsey Graham and others have said about President Trump,” McConnell said in a statement to The Hill on Thursday. It's a bit of an understatement, but we're all on the same team now.”

After the 2020 election, McConnell privately criticized Trump, calling him “stupid,” “impatient,” and “a despicable human being,” according to a biography of McConnell written by Associated Press Washington bureau chief Michael Tackett. did. Late October. The Associated Press reported excerpts from the biography on Thursday.

The Kentucky Republican endorsed the former president in March after publicly clashing with him in recent years.

“It's clear that former President Trump has the support of Republican voters necessary to be a candidate for president of the United States. It is no surprise that he has my support as a candidate,” McConnell said at the time. he said.

Two other Republican figures McConnell singled out in Thursday's statement, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, each criticized harshly before later supporting Trump. I've been doing this.

In 2015, Mr. Graham excoriated Mr. Trump, then his rival in the Republican presidential primary, over Mr. Trump's comments about banning Muslims from entering the United States.

“You know how to make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell,” Graham said in an interview at the time.

Vance, who previously expressed his distaste for Trump, calling him a “cynical asshole” and “America's Hitler,” is now his running mate.

The Hill has reached out to Vance's press secretary, Graham, and the Trump campaign for comment.