During an interview this morning on Fox News, former President Donald Trump took the opportunity to swing back at Kentucky Senator and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“Mitch is a loser for our nation and for the Republican Party who would not have been re-elected in Kentucky without my endorsement, which he begged me for because he was going down”, Trump said. Trump went on to add:
“His well-financed opponent had $93 million ready to spend when I drove him from two points down to 21 points up in a matter of days.”
Trump’s scathing commentary came in response to McConnell joining a growing list of Republicans condemning Trump’s decision to host a dinner at Mar-a-lago with a white supremacist named Nick Fuentes. In response to the dinner between Trump and Fuentes, McConnell said there is no room in the Republican Party for antisemitism or white supremacy. And anyone meeting with people advocating that point of view, in my judgment, are highly unlikely to ever be elected president of the United States.
Other notable quotes from Trump’s interview on Fox News included denial of any foreknowledge of Fuentes background. “I had no idea what his views were, and they weren’t expressed at the table in our very quick dinner, or it wouldn’t have been accepted.”
Trump also defended his support of Israel. “Nobody has to prove or be defensive of me and Israel,” he added. “They have acknowledged that I’m the best friend and president to Israel.”
United State’s diplomatic relationships with Israel underwent a remarkable transition during Trump’s first year in office. In December of 2017, Trump announced that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and ordered the planning of the relocation of Israel’s U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It should also be noted that Trump and his administration, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, were staunch supporters of Israel throughout every conflict with Palestine.
Since 2004, O’Hern has worked with political campaigns in roles ranging from major projects involving nationwide digital marketing for U.S. Presidential candidates, U.S. Congressmen, state governors, and state representatives. O’Hern’s journalism background includes news reporting and editing for various organizations and news publications in Alabama and Florida since 2002. O’Hern graduated from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science.