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Former President Donald Trump sharply criticized Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday for voting against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as Health and Human Services Secretary.
Trump accused McConnell of opposing Kennedy not on policy grounds but as a way to undermine him, dismissing McConnell’s explanation that his childhood battle with polio influenced his decision.
“I was the one that got him to drop out of the leadership position, so he can’t love me. But he’s not voting against Bobby, he’s voting against me. But that’s all right. He endorsed me. You know that Mitch endorsed me, right?” Trump told reporters.
When CNN’s Kaitlan Collins noted that McConnell had polio as a child, McConnell had cited that experience in explaining his opposition to Kennedy, a well-known vaccine skeptic. Trump appeared indifferent to that reasoning.
“I don’t know anything about — he had polio, he had polio,” Trump responded dismissively.
Collins pressed him further, asking if he doubted McConnell’s account of having polio. Trump brushed it aside.
“I have no idea if he had polio. All I can tell you about him is he shouldn’t have been leader, he knows that. He voted against Bobby. He votes against almost everything. He’s a very bitter guy,” Trump said.
Trump then downplayed McConnell’s influence, arguing that the senator has lost power within the Republican Party.
“We have a very strong party, and he’s almost not even really a very powerful member. … He’s lost his power,” Trump added.
McConnell was the only Republican senator to vote against Kennedy’s nomination, citing concerns over Kennedy’s long history of anti-vaccine activism.
While some GOP senators had expressed reservations about Kennedy’s views, McConnell was the only one to formally oppose him.
The Kentucky senator also voted against other Trump-backed nominees, including Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence and Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense.
McConnell justified his opposition to Kennedy by stating, “I will not condone the relitigation of proven cures.”
Despite McConnell’s objections, Kennedy was sworn in later that day in a ceremony at the Oval Office.
Trump continued his attack on McConnell, suggesting that the senator had overstayed his leadership role and lacked the mental sharpness to remain a political force.
“I feel sorry for Mitch. And I was one of the people that led — he wanted to go to the end, and he wanted to stay leader,” Trump said.
He then escalated his criticism, saying McConnell was unfit to lead even a decade ago.
“He’s not equipped, mentally. He wasn’t equipped 10 years ago, mentally, in my opinion. He let the Republican Party go to hell. If I didn’t come along, the Republican Party wouldn’t even exist right now. Mitch McConnell never really had it.”
Trump acknowledged that McConnell had some influence due to his fundraising abilities but insisted that his leadership had been weak.
“Senators would call me, and they’d say, ‘He wants to give me $20, $25 million. Can I take it?’ I’d say, ‘Take the money,’” Trump recalled, implying that McConnell maintained loyalty from fellow Republicans primarily through financial support rather than strong leadership.
McConnell stepped down as Senate GOP leader at the end of the last congressional term, with Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) replacing him in November.
The transition marked the end of McConnell’s nearly two-decade tenure as the top Republican in the Senate.
McConnell’s departure from leadership followed years of tension with Trump, particularly after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who served as Trump’s Secretary of Transportation, resigned from her post in protest following the riots.
Despite McConnell’s exit from leadership, Trump’s criticism suggests their feud is far from over. With Kennedy now confirmed and McConnell’s influence waning, Trump appears eager to reinforce his dominance within the Republican Party.
