Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suggested on Thursday that there is no crime that would cancel out his "obligation" to vote for former President Donald Trump in the next general election.
During an interview with Axios, host Jonathan Swan asked McConnell about his "moral red lines."
"Help me understand this," Swan said. "I watched your speech last year in February on the Senate floor after the second impeachment vote for Donald Trump."
The host reminded McConnell that he said Trump was "morally" responsible for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"How do you go from saying that to two weeks later saying you'd absolutely support Donald Trump if he's the Republican nominee in 2024?" Swan asked.
"Well, as the Republican leader of the Senate, it should not be a front-page headline that I will support the Republican nominee for president," McConnell insisted.
"After you said that about him, I think it's astonishing!" Swan remarked.
"I think I have an obligation to support the nominee of my party," McConnell explained.
"Is there anything they could do?" Swan wondered.
"Well, that will mean that whoever the nominee is has gone out and earned the nomination," McConnell argued.
"You seem to hold two concurrent conflicting positions!" Swan exclaimed.
"Not at all inconsistent, I stand by everything I said," McConnell interrupted. "Because I don't get to pick the Republican nominee for president. They're elected by the Republican voters all over the country."
Swan pressed but McConnell objected.
"You want to spend some more time on this?" the Republican leader snapped.
Swan noted that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) opposes Trump "because she believes there are some things more important than party loyalty."
"Well, maybe you ought to be talking to Liz Cheney," McConnell replied.
"It's not a gotcha," Swan said. "I'm actually trying to understand. Is there any threshold for you?"
"You know, I say many things I'm sure people don't understand," McConnell quipped, shutting down the line of questioning.
Watch the video below from Axios.
