On Thursday night, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has mostly dodged commenting on the presidential contest or his ongoing feud with former President Trump, suddenly decided to come to his defense.
Writing on X, McConnell chastised Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) for pursuing the case and predicted that Trump's conviction would eventually be overturned.
“These charges never should have been brought in the first place. I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal,” he announced.
These charges never should have been brought in the first place. I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal.
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) May 31, 2024
McConnell's surprising decision to finally speak up about a court case he's been ignoring for months might just be a sign that Trump's conviction has inadvertently united even GOP's fiercest skeptics in his favor, leaving overambitious Democrats increasingly panicked about the 2024 presidential election.
The Senate GOP leader was noticeably silent in April of last year when Trump pleaded not guilty to the 34 felony counts brought by Bragg's office.
Nevertheless, Trump has struggled somewhat to unite the party, as a significant minority of GOP primary voters continue to cast votes for Nikki Haley despite her withdrawal from the presidential campaign months ago.
After Trump's conviction, several pundits recalled Leader McConnell's prescient warning to Harry Reid after his then-counterpart nuked the filibuster for judicial appointments: “You will regret this. You may regret this a lot sooner than you think.”
This is a bad day for the rule of law, and in the immortal words of Mitch McConnell: pic.twitter.com/SnSHE1Laad
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) May 30, 2024
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