Mitch McConnell Dodges Question About Endorsing Donald Trump

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was confronted by a reporter on Tuesday regarding whether or not he'd endorse former President Donald Trump for the upcoming 2024 presidential race, RadarOnline.com has learned.

During a press conference, McConnell was confronted about his reluctance to endorse Trump, who is seen as the "likely nominee."

A reporter asked McConnell, "Over the weekend, Senator [John] Thune came out and he endorsed Trump. The other lieutenants have endorsed Trump. Why are you holding out in endorsing the likely nominee?"

McConnell responded to the query by stating, "I don't have any announcement about that today," quickly shifting to the next question.

Unnamed sources familiar with the situation revealed to The Hill on Monday that discussions had taken place between Trump's campaign and McConnell's team regarding a possible endorsement.

Trump himself fueled speculations by suggesting that McConnell was inclined to endorse him, stating, "I don't know if he's going to endorse me. I just heard he wants to endorse me."

McConnell, who reluctantly endorsed Trump as the Republican Party's "presumptive nominee" in 2016, expressed in 2022 that it would be his "obligation" to support Trump if he secured the nomination again.

This declaration comes despite McConnell's prior criticism of Trump, holding him "morally responsible" for the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots.

The rift between McConnell and Trump escalated when the former accused the latter of instigating the Capitol riots. In retaliation, Trump disparaged McConnell, labeling him as a "dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack" and even threatened to support McConnell's Senate primary adversaries.

Trump also made derogatory remarks about McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, who served as Secretary of Transportation under the Trump administration.

Chao denounced Trump's offensive nickname, "Coco Chow," as a "racist taunt." McConnell, in turn, highlighted Trump's contradictory stance on immigration policies by pointing out that the issue didn't concern him when appointing Chao to his cabinet.

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According to Real Clear Politics, recent polling data suggests that Trump is a runaway favorite in the GOP primary, sitting comfortably at 78.7 percent of likely Republican voters voting for him over his only opponent left in the race, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

Haley has refused to drop out of the race, even after losing the primary in her own home state by double digits. Political analysts believe she will remain in the race until the results of Super Tuesday in March.