Former President Donald Trump said most Republicans in the Senate are not leaning into his stolen election claims because “Mitch McConnell is a loser.”
The dig at the GOP leader came during an NPR interview in which Mr. Trump abruptly hung up after getting challenged on a series of his unproven claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Asked why a vast number of his former allies in the Senate are not rallying behind his claims, Mr. Trump said: “because Mitch McConnell is a loser.”
“Frankly Mitch McConnell, if he were on the other side and [Senate Majority Leader Charles] Schumer were put in his position, he would have been fighting this like you have never seen before,” Mr. Trump said in the Tuesday phone interview. “This is a long way from over.”
Mr. Trump‘s insistence the 2020 election was stolen got additional pushback this week from Sen. Mike Rounds. The South Dakota Republican said the election was fair and that continuing to air the falsehood is going to hurt the GOP brand.
Mr. Trump pushed back against that, saying, “I think it is an advantage. … Otherwise, they are going to do it again in [2022] and [2024].”
Mr. Trump has refused to accept the election results after watching courts, including judges he appointed, slap down lawsuits challenging the results in various states.
A high-profile audit of election results in Maricopa County Arizona also confirmed President Biden’s victory there, according to county officials.
Mr. Trump said Arizona Republicans accepted the findings because they are a “bunch of RINOs.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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