Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is proving that even an “old, broken-down crow” can learn new tricks.
Actually, in this instance, it might be more appropriate to say he’s adopting and recasting an old trick, one popularized in 1974 by another famous Louisvillian, Muhammad Ali, the man universally known as The Champ, who called it rope-a-dope. Fast forward to 2022 and you’ll find our boy Mitch roping the biggest dope of them all – former President Donald J. Trump.
First a little background:
Ali travelled to Kinshasa, Zaire, 47 years ago for what was called The Rumble in the Jungle, his effort to reclaim the World Heavyweight Championship belt from title-holder George Foreman.
Despite past ring successes, Ali was not given much chance against the hulking, undefeated Foreman, and for the first seven rounds those doubts appeared well-founded. Ali had adopted a defensive posture, leaning against the ropes and covering up, allowing the powerful foreman to wail away to his heart’s content.
But by the eighth round it became obvious that Foreman was exhausted, having punched himself out. His plethora of body shots appeared to have limited effect on Ali. Sensing correctly that his foe’s energy was spent, Ali assumed an offensive posture and went in for the kill. Big George went down like a giant oak in the forest.
Now, let’s consider the ongoing heavyweight battle between Trump and McConnell, who have rather infamously been engaged in hostilities since Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump egged on potential seditionists to, essentially, overthrow the United States government.
Trump demanded that Congress reject the Electoral College results that showed him losing his re-election bid to President Biden by 7 million votes. His rage led rioters to storm the Capitol with the intent of forcing Congress to deny certification, resulting in property damage and several deaths.
An incensed McConnell declared that Trump “provoked” the rioters and was, therefore, “morally responsible’’ for the outcome. Trump, responding in his usual mature, level-headed, reasonable sage-like manner, called McConnell everything but a child of God, most particularly an “old, broken-down crow,” insulted his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and sought to displace him as Senate Republican leader.
Trump’s rants against McConnell have been unending since the two parted on Jan. 6, 2021. In reality, their relationship was always tenuous. Trump praised McConnell’s efforts in behalf of his Supreme Court nominations but chided what the marvel of megalomania considered Mitch’s timidity, particularly when it came to killing the filibuster rule, which Trump loathed.
For his part, McConnell always insisted he got along well with Trump prior to the revolt. That, however, is a common McConnell trope. He also said he got along well with the likes of former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada, former Sen. Wendell Ford, D-Owensboro, Sen. Rand Paul, R-JeffYass, and President Biden. While it is true with Biden, it’s iffy at best with the rest. The two he has exhibited real animus toward are Sen. Rick Scott, R-FL, who challenged him for GOP Senate leader and blew the 2022 elections, and former President Barack Obama, for reasons unknown.
So, while Trump huffed and puffed and tried to blow his house down, McConnell backed up against the ropes and covered up, refusing to respond to the fusillade. Trump couldn’t even get him to the center of the ring with references to his wife as “Coco Chao,’’ although it should be noted that no one has yet figured out what in the world he was referring to.
McConnell absorbed the blows and refused to respond. He even protected Trump, putting the kibosh on legitimate impeachment efforts and effectively killing any effort to appoint a blue-ribbon panel to investigate the riot. He even said, incredibly, that he would support Trump if he was the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.
But the tide, it appears, has turned. The Trump bandwagon is exhibiting signs of running on fumes.
Republicans Trump favored for competitive Senate seats this year, folks like Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and Herschel Walker in Georgia, failed, opening the door for Democrats to operate with a majority once again. In a move that can only be attributed to the mind of a numbskull, he suggested that the U.S. Constitution be shredded to allow him to reassume his former position as head of state. Candidates with similar authoritarian philosophies but without the baggage, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have emerged.
Then there’s the tiny, little issue of subpoenas, purloined documents, grand jury probes, a Trump-owned company found guilty of tax fraud and a House committee laying the Jan. 6 riot at the former president’s feet. And, from all indications, the best is yet to come.
To put an exclamation point on it, a CNN poll conducted by SSRS, released on Wednesday, shows that 62 percent of voters leaning Republican questioned want to see someone other than Trump as the party’s 2024 presidential nominee.
Other than that, everything’s just peachy-keen for with The Donald.
Now, suddenly, with this pumpkin-skinned old man wheezing and stumbling about, Addison Mitchell McConnell has bounced off the ropes and emerged as Muhammad Ali.
The initial salvo came late last month when Trump inexplicably dined with entertainer Kanya West, now known as Ye, apparently, an overt antisemite, and some dude named Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist.
As the old saying goes, you can tell a man by the company he keeps.
McConnell’s reaction? “Anyone meeting with people advocating that point of view, in my judgment, are highly unlikely to ever be elected president of the United States.”
Soon thereafter, Trump issued a statement through his social media site, Truth Social, where he suggested the Constitution be waived so he could return as president.
“A massive fraud of this type allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump wrote. “Our great ‘founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False and Fraudulent elections!”
On Dec. 7, meeting with reporters, McConnell offered a different perspective.
“Anyone seeking the presidency who thinks that the Constitution could somehow be suspended or not followed, it seems to me would have a very hard time being sworn in as president of the United States,” McConnell said.
Pressed on whether he continues to intend to support Trump if he is the party’s presidential nominee, McConnell demurred, as is his wont, which, in a way, is similar to issuing a hard no.
“What I’m saying is it would be pretty hard to be sworn into the presidency if you’re not willing to uphold the Constitution,” McConnell said. “That’s what I said, and I’ve just said it again.”
And just this week McConnell was moaning about the “candidate quality” Republicans were stuck with in this year’s Senate races.
Early in the 2022 campaign, McConnell expressed misgivings about some of the candidates promoted to bring the Senate majority back to the GOP. Again, speaking to reporters, McConnell repeated that regret, and focused on one particular contributor.
“Our ability to control primary outcomes was quite limited in ’22 because the support of the former president proved to be very decisive in these primaries, so my view was, ‘Do the best with the cards you’re dealt,’” he said.
After two years of the Harpo Marx treatment as it relates to Trump, McConnell all of a sudden has turned into his brother Groucho. It might make some people a little queasy but it’s good politics kicking a man when he’s down.
If nothing else, McConnell is experienced in politics.
A lot of folks, including me, thought McConnell was off base in failing to respond to Trump’s attacks, especially as they relate to his wife. His decision to hold back may prove prescient.
At the same time, it should be noted that McConnell could have delivered a knock-out blow earlier by agreeing to participate in a legitimate impeachment trial after Jan. 6 – he instead conducted a fraud. And he ignored calls for a wide-ranging investigation into the sordid events of that day.
Regardless, the game is afoot.