In an impressive feat, Mitch McConnell made it through more than a month without discussing the Republican nominee for president. He recently broke his silence and that streak, though, when he told a Kentucky crowd that “we need a new president, Donald Trump.”
The support probably doesn’t reflect a change of heart. It’s more likely that a vision of a Trump presidency — or at least big enough Trump turnout to save his majority — has slowly crept into the Senate Republican leader’s mind.
Unlike House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has tangled with Trump publicly, the majority leader had disappeared from the presidential debate. He endorsed the businessman after he won the nomination but said little else. And at a September town hall, the majority leader told a crowd that talking Trump “would be wasting our time.”
That’s cost the majority leader. McConnell has weathered criticism for refusing to address the unpopular nominee. On Tuesday, USA Today warned that “history will have a lot to say about party elders who meekly stand by their endorsement of Trump.” On Wednesday, he broke his silence almost as if in response. He doubled down on his Trump endorsement.
When Clinton led in the polls and the Republican majority was slipping away, it made sense for McConnell to be mum. He might have damned moderate senators in tough races if he had spoken favorably of the nominee. And he damned populists if he dinged Trump.
But that was before the Clinton email investigation bounced back, giving Trump a late bump. Now, in comparison to Clinton, the retired reality star has become less unpalatable to voters and less toxic to Republicans.
By re-upping his support with less than a week before the election, McConnell is signalling that he believes Trump’s candidacy is no longer of a threat to his Senate majority, and possibly even an asset.
Senate hopefuls who don’t support the nominee, like Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire and Joe Heck in Nevada, won’t be hurt by it. Conversely, Pro-Trump candidates, like Roy Blunt in Montana, Richard Burr in North Carolina, and Todd Young in Indiana, could benefit from a united GOP majority in the final hour.
More tortoise than hare, McConnell’s strategy is always measured and deliberate. In addition to capitalizing on Trump’s last-minute momentum, he’s probably preparing for the outside chance that he keeps his majority, or even gets a Republican president out of the whole deal.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
