One of Congress’s most powerful Republicans apparently feels powerless in the face of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

Sitting for an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell explained that he didn’t see any other option than to endorse the GOP presidential nominee—despite having made previous declarations against Trump, including blaming him for the violent events that unfolded on January 6.

“The issue is, what kind of influence, even if I had chosen to get involved in the presidential election, what kind of influence would I have had?” McConnell said after insinuating he was duty-bound as the most powerful Republican in the Senate to support the candidate that Republican delegates voted for.

  • drislands@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    The man has been leading by example for years. Remember when, during the Obama presidency, he refused to even call a vote on any Supreme Court nominees?

    He has shown time and time again that he doesn’t care about the unwritten gentleman’s rules that the government has been (more or less) abiding by for centuries, and now he’s shocked that his party is overrun by people with zero interest in working towards anything other than destruction?

    He’s a fool and he’s dragged us down with him.

    • OpenStars@discuss.online
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      8 months ago

      He’s a patsy - a convenient face to focus our attention on while the real actors function behind the scenes. As the magician says, “please focus all of your attention on this hand over here…”

  • neidu2@feddit.nl
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    8 months ago

    Hey guys, I poured some diesel on this fire, and hid all the extinguishers. Turns out that it’s hard to control it now.

      • neidu2@feddit.nl
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        8 months ago

        Petrol instantly vaporizes and explodes, and exhausts itself more or less right away. Diesel takes time to heat up enough, but once it does, it’s a raging inferno that easily reignites by itself after being extinguished.

        Source: I’ve started (sanctioned, legal, and utilitarian) fires with both

          • firebyte@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Diesel burns slowly, though petrol makes diesel easier to ignite.

            We mix them 3:1 Diesel/Petrol (called ‘driptorch’ fuel, used in ‘driptorches’) to safely put fire to the ground when we need to.

            Source: am firefighter.

          • neidu2@feddit.nl
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            8 months ago

            Never tried, but I would suspect that petrol could be an effective accelerant, as it’d reach its flash point long before the diesel does.

  • grue@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Of course you had options, you traitorous piece of shit:

    • You could refuse to endorse Trump
    • You could switch parties and become a Democrat
    • You could resign
    • You could kill yourself

    You had tons of options, but you’d rather let democracy burn anyway.

    • madcaesar@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Or he could have not stolen a court seat.

      He could have not backstabbed everyone and everything.

      Alas, he’s a piece of shit.

  • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    “I have no power to stop this” says man who refused to even try to use the ACTUAL POWER HE HAD stop this

    Fuck off and die McConnell, preferably in the most painful way possible. He refused to impeach the fucker, so this is just whining to try to protect his legacy, but this is 10000% his fault.

    • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      It’s a bit worse than that - they’re following the path he laid down… he just likes to seem like he has no control when they’re acting heinous, but if they get the house and senate again he’d be happy to install more conservative judges.

  • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    That’s some amazing logic.

    I have absolutely no power and am utterly helpless. I’ll stay in the job.

      • halferect@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        I’m not sure at this point mitch could control MAGA, even trying to pull weight with any remaining classic Republicans probably wouldn’t have any chance of reining in the party back from full on MAGA since a lot still are thinking of reelection and going against MAGA is a career ender

  • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    Once you announce retirement, you’re lame duck. This is not news to McConnell or anyone else.

  • HopeOfTheGunblade@kbin.social
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    8 months ago

    So, in order to avoid having no influence, you use all of your influence to advance someone else’s ends? Idk man, seems like you could have told Trump to eat a dick on national TV, told the Republican senators that you were never going to have a better chance to get rid of his ass, and voted to convict and bar him from politics if it passed.

    Sure, I don’t get to be a senator, but the fuck would I want to be a senator for, if that was the price of entry? You get to be a pawn, and get played? Pass, old man.

  • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    “The issue is, what kind of influence, even if I had chosen to get involved in the presidential election, what kind of influence would I have had?”

    What a worm.