Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao, have been the target of former President Donald Trump’s insults this week.
AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley
Former President Donald Trump’s feud with Mitch McConnell turned personal this week.
Trump called McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, “crazy” and “coco” in several Truth Social posts.
McConnell was asked if he had a response to the insult and bluntly replied, “No.”
Former President Donald Trump’s long-standing feud with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell turned personal this week, with Trump flinging insults at both McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao.
However, when asked about Trump’s insults, McConnell said he had no response to them.
In several Truth Social posts this week, Trump fired shots at both McConnell and Chao, who was Trump’s Transportation Secretary and the first Trump Cabinet member to resign following the Capitol riot. Earlier this month, CNN reported, citing anonymous sources, that Chao had spoken to the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 riot.
In a post on Saturday, Trump called McConnell a “broken down hack politician,” claiming without substantiation that he should spend “less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China.”
Trump on Wednesday hit out at McConnell and Chao again, posting an article on Truth Social with the caption: “Trump Is Right. Mitch McConnell And Elaine Chao Spent Decades Getting Rich On China.”
The former president then insulted both Chao and McConnell in a lengthy statement that called for McConnell to be replaced as Senate GOP leader. “The Democrats have Mitch McConnell and his lovely wife, Elaine “Coco” Chao, over a barrel,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, alleging without substantiation that Chao and McConnell were being blackmailed into doing the Democratic Party’s bidding.
During an event in Kentucky on Tuesday, McConnell was asked if he had any reaction to the former president flinging an insult at his wife.
“No,” McConnell replied.
—The Recount (@therecount) August 23, 2022
McConnell and Trump have had a long-standing feud, although their earlier bickering had not involved Chao.
In February, McConnell shrugged off rumors that Trump might succeed in an attempt to oust him as majority leader if the GOP were to take the Senate in the November midterms. That was after Trump called McConnell a “loser” for defending GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who had contradicted Trump’s voter fraud claims.
In November, Trump slammed McConnell and other Republicans who backed President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, calling them “RINOs,” an acronym for Republicans In Name Only. That same month, he also gave McConnell the moniker “Old Crow” and accused him of “jeopardizing” other Republican senators’ reelection chances.
Trump has also had a history of insulting the wives of rival politicians. In 2016, then-presidential candidate Trump shared an unflattering photo of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s wife on Twitter, comparing her to his wife, Melania.
Representatives for Trump and McConnell did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.