Former President Donald Trump said he thinks that Democrats “have something” on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and blamed him for not doing enough to fight back against purported “election interference” after he was slapped with another federal indictment this week.
Trump, the leading GOP presidential candidate, has repeatedly claimed the trio of indictments he’s been handed since March are attempts by the Justice Department to interfere in the 2024 presidential election
Trump told the crowd at the South Carolina Republican Party’s 56th Annual Silver Elephant Gala on Saturday night that McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Republican senators need to step up their fight against the DOJ
“These guys, what they’re doing with the election interference and the Senate has to step up and do something. The House is doing a lot of things,” Trump said. “The Senate under, perhaps the worst leader in the history of the country running the senate, Mitch McConnell has to stand up and do something.
“And you [South Carolina] have some good ones, and that guy right there,” he said pointing at South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham.
“He’s working hard but they need a lot of other people and to stop handing out money every time,” he added, again blaming McConnell for paving the way for the Democrats’ $1.7 billion spending deal passed in September.
Trump then looked directly at Graham and said he believes the Democrats have some dirt on the aging Kentuckian.
“I’m telling you Lindsey, they have something on Mitch McConnell. There’s no way that he’s doing this. They have something on Mitch McConnell. It’s a terrible thing that’s happening with that guy. They got to step up.”
The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer (R-Ohio), have launched investigations into business dealings of President Biden and his troubled son, Hunter..
Trump, 77, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Washington DC on Thursday to the latest indictment, which charges the 45th president with conspiring with others to spread lies about widespread voter fraud in order to overturn the 2020 election.
The ex-president and McConnell, 81, have a history of butting heads since Trump jumped into the political sphere during the 2016 elections. Just this week, Trump urged Senate Republicans to replace him as minority leader after he recently froze up in front of reporters, raising concerns about his health.
After McConnel voted to acquit Trump during his impeachment of the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riots, McConnell vowed that Trump would have his day in court.
“He didn’t get away with anything yet — yet,” McConnell vowed. “We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being accountable by either one.”
Despite his legal troubles, Trump maintains the dominant frontrunner in the GOP primary. According to the latest compiled polling data from FiveThirtyEight, Trump leads the GOP field at 53.5%, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 14.3% and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 6.7%.