Mitch McConnell just went there
If you’ve watched Mitch McConnell in action over the years, he’s actually quite predictable. There’s very little that’s surprising about what he does. If anything, the only surprising thing is how many people seem perennially confused by McConnell’s motivations.
For someone like Mitch McConnell, concepts like “right” or “wrong” or “conscience” or “spine” don’t exist. McConnell is simply transactional. He always does whatever he thinks is going to strengthen his own power base. Simple as that. That usually involves doing the wrong thing, or the corrupt thing. But occasionally, McConnell calculates that he can benefit himself the most by doing the right thing, so he does it.
When McConnell publicly condemned Donald Trump in the harshest of terms after January 6th, that wasn’t some “come to Jesus” moment for McConnell. It was simply a matter of McConnell trying to ensure that he came out of January 6th stronger, not weaker. And when McConnell endorsed Trump today, it wasn’t a matter of McConnell suddenly “losing his spine.” It was strictly a matter of McConnell calculating that he’s personally better off endorsing Trump than not endorsing Trump.
So yeah, Mitch McConnell went there today. It’s not a surprise. McConnell always does what McConnell thinks is best for McConnell. Right and wrong have nothing to do with it. Loyalty has nothing to do with it. If McConnell decides three months from now that he’s best off by throwing Trump back under the bus, that’s what he’ll do. With someone like McConnell, you don’t count on him to do the right thing or the wrong thing. You count on him to do the self-interested thing.
