McConnell Reportedly Goads Trump By Gifting Senators ‘Old Crow’ Bourbon

Topline

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) seems to be taking the “old crow” nickname former President Donald Trump has bestowed on him in stride, gifting fellow Republican senators with bottles of Old Crow bourbon Thursday at GOP senators’ weekly luncheon, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.

Key Facts

Trump regularly sends out statements slamming McConnell, and has recently called him an “old crow” or variations thereof, like “old broken-down crow.”

McConnell has laughed off what was intended to be a derogatory nickname, declaring in February that the budget-priced, Beam Suntory-distilled Old Crow hooch is his “favorite bourbon.”

McConnell traditionally hosts the GOP luncheon the week of the Kentucky Derby and gifts his colleagues with bourbon.

Trump reportedly plans to attend the Derby on Saturday to host a high-dollar fundraiser, while McConnell will miss the event because of travel conflicts over attending late GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch’s funeral in Utah.

Crucial Quote

“The Broken Old Crow is a loser, and very bad for the Republican Party!” Trump said in a December 10 statement.

Key Background

McConnell has been one of Trump’s favorite targets for attacks since he left the White House last year. The former president has accused McConnell of weak leadership and capitulation to the Biden Administration on issues like the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package and negotiations over the debt ceiling, while Trump also blasted him for not supporting the Republican National Committee’s moves to censure Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) for serving on the January 6 committee. The relationship between Trump and McConnell appeared to significantly sour after the attack on the Capitol, though McConnell did not vote to convict Trump after the House moved to impeach him. McConnell also notably slammed the RNC’s characterization of the riot as “legitimate political discourse.”

Tangent

McConnell reportedly thought Trump was politically doomed after January 6. “He put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Couldn’t have happened at a better time,” McConnell said the night of the rioting, according to the recently released book This Will Not Pass by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns.

Further Reading

Mitch McConnell gives wry nod to Donald Trump with Kentucky Derby gift to GOP senators (Louisville Courier Journal)

McConnell Blasts RNC Over Censure Of Cheney And Kinzinger (Forbes)

RNC Censures Reps. Liz Cheney And Adam Kinzinger For Serving On Jan. 6 Committee (Forbes)