Donald Trump is facing difficulties on many fronts, with many former allies and people who worked for him distancing themselves from him, though his hard core base seems to be intact, if possibly getting smaller. In such a situation, you would think that he would try to retain as many allies as possible.
But he is so thin-skinned that even the slightest perception of a criticism of him causes him to lash out. The latest target is Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the US Senate. It is McConnell who blocked many of the actions taken by Congress against Trump, such as the two impeachments. Trump should be grateful to him
But recently McConnell, who desperately wants to be majority leader again, has expressed skepticism that Republicans will regain a majority in the senate and blamed the ‘quality’ of some of the candidates that the Republicans are fielding in some key races. While not mentioning any names, it seems he was suggesting people like Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, Hershel Walker in Georgia, and J. D. Vance in Ohio, all of whom are struggling to win races that were expected to easily go Republican.All of them were so strongly endorsed by Trump that they won their primary races.
As criticisms go, McConnell’s were pretty oblique and mild. But Trump of course went ballistic and lashed out not only at McConnell but also his wife Elaine Chao.
Trump said the senior senator from Kentucky should spend more time and money helping Republican Senate candidates get elected and “less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China.”
“Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working Republican candidates for the United States Senate,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
McConnell has drawn ire from Trump after he said that Republicans will face a tough task in flipping the Senate majority, citing “candidate quality.”
It should be noted that Chao was selected by Trump to serve on his cabinet as transportation secretary and stayed in that role for almost his full term. So why now accuse her of being ‘crazy’ and argue that she used her position to enrich her family? Because she resigned after the events of January 6th. Even though she did not publicly condemn his actions on or after that day, the act of resigning is clearly seen by Trump as a monstrous betrayal, deserving of his vituperation.
With Trump, nothing other than absolute and unconditional subservience is acceptable. That can work, at least in the short run, if you are a dictator. The problem for Trump is that he seems to believe that he is one.
Why? Because he is a fecking moron. He isnt capable of coherent thought anymore, if he ever was. He just does what he wants. He has been getting his way for so long he no longer entertains the idea he could be wrong about anything.
Chao’s use of her position to enrich her family is pretty well-known, so I guess your question is, “why is Trump accidentally telling a truth?”
It seems to me that Trump doesn’t see the republican establishment as allies. Serfs or servants maybe, but not allies.
As “Beau of the fifth column” recently pointed out, McConnell has been around the senate since the late sixties. So it wouldn’t surprise me if Trump is just a tool to him as well.
Everyone who is in his camp believes that anyone can and should be attacked at any time for any reason and since they are mainly politicians the reason usually is ‘seizing power’. Wielding this seized power for the public weal? Not so much. That the only thing stopping this constant attacks and backstabbing from everyone to everyone is a greater authority, one that ‘shows power’ by attacking that which they themselves think that they can’t. Civility, to them, is just a lie that everyone tells. Consistency, to them, is just a pretense in the face of living in a world where there should be a certainty (their certainty) but in which everyone makes decisions with incomplete information. And of course the dude lies more than they, lots of lies is more power just like they’re doing. To them: Kindness. Is. Irrelevant. Consistency. Is. Irrelevant. Truth. Is. Irrelevant.
You think this is alienating. It is, -to you-. I think that the last six years prove that to those who have seized power at the cost of destroying our country; it is not.
I’ll probably be damned but Voltaire’s prayer really works if you address it to Cthulhu.
My own suspicion — which could be wrong — is that Trump is a strategic, transactional bully. He probably does not think of McConnell as someone from whom he needs anything at the moment, and even if he did need something from McConnell, his thoughts are probably something along the lines of “He needs my goodwill (because the GOP base loves me) a lot more than I need his goodwill, and I want to smack him around a little to show that I’m still the boss.”
So, strategizing done, he feels no inhibition at lashing out.
If his poll numbers drop enough, we might see a lot less of that.
“If his poll numbers drop enough, we might see a lot less of that.”
Nah. Those are fake polls. I have the best poll numbers.
Authoritarian dictators don’t have allies, they have minions and underlings. Power via wealth is their main motivation so of course they have a very transactional worldview.
McConnell is absolutely complicit in empowering tfg for personal profit, and he and his wife are nothing but corrupt leeches who should both be in prison.
Marcus @5:
Good news: Voltaire’s prayer was indeed answered WRT Trump and the Republicans.
Bad news: It was answered by Loki.
[Coyote would be a more appropriate analogue, given the continent]
Uh, Trump doesn’t need allies. He needs to be buried and forgotten. end of.