WASHINGTON — When Mitch McConnell was asked last week about former President Donald Trump’s latest call to replace him as Republican leader, the Kentuckian only offered a two-word response shielded behind a wily smirk: “Good try.”
While some interpreted that as a direct reply to Trump, McConnell’s communications director indicated it was more likely his way of dodging the reporter’s question altogether.
Directly responding to Trump would be a dramatic break from how McConnell has handled a full year of his consistent attacks. The Senate minority leader has largely been content with ignoring them, allowing the Trump-McConnell feud to be a mostly one-way exchange.