The real reason why Trump is angry at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is that he blames McConnell for not doing enough to protect him from the Russia investigation.
The New York Times reported on a profane phone call between McConnell and Trump, “During the call, which Mr. Trump initiated on Aug. 9 from his New Jersey golf club, the president accused Mr. McConnell of bungling the health care issue. He was even more animated about what he intimated was the Senate leader’s refusal to protect him from investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to Republicans briefed on the conversation.”
The hostilities between Trump and McConnell are very real. McConnell is outraged that Trump refuses to learn about governing, and continues to attack his own party’s senators. Trump is blaming McConnell for not protecting him from the Russia investigation.
There are a couple of important points to keep in mind. Innocent people don’t need to be protected from investigations, and it seems that Trump’s plan to avoid going down for the Russia scandal was to use the entire Republican Party to hide his potential crimes. Mitch McConnell enabled Trump to do whatever he did with the Russians by not issuing a joint statement with Obama condemning Russian election hacking, but there is a clear dividing line when it comes to covering for Trump and going down with the administration.
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Republican Senators feel no loyalty to Trump, and there will be no hesitation to push Trump overboard if he and the Russia scandal become a liability.
The whole Trump gets mad because he thinks someone should have protected him from the Russia investigation should sound familiar. Trump was angry at Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the same reason.
If there were nothing to the Russia investigation, Trump wouldn’t need protection. The fact that the President thinks he does is an indication that the surface has just begun to be scratched in the Russia scandal.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
