Mitch McConnell endorses Trump, whom he once condemned

Three years after his searing condemnation of Donald J. Trump following the January 6 riot, Senator Mitch McConnell endorsed him for president on Wednesday, illustrating Trump’s power to bend the Republican Party to his will as he moves toward Republican nomination.

Mr McConnell, the Republican minority leader in the Senate, and Mr Trump had not spoken a word to each other since December 2020. But people close to both men had been working behind the scenes for weeks to clear the way for the approval.

The Kentucky Republican was the highest-ranking member of the party not to endorse Trump. And for the former president, Mr. McConnell’s support could be important as he tries to rally some Republican donors who are wary of him.

It was shortly after the 2021 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob that Mr. McConnell publicly blamed the riot on Mr. Trump’s incessant lies that the 2020 election had been stolen. But he also refused to vote to convict Mr. Trump during the former president’s second impeachment trial, signaling that the criminal justice system was the place to deal with him.

“Former President Trump’s actions leading up to the riot were a disgraceful dereliction of duty,” McConnell said in a speech after the trial ended. There was no doubt that Mr Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day”, he added.

“The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president,” Mr. McConnell said.

In return, Mr. Trump continually mocked and vilified Mr. McConnell.

A year later, Mr. McConnell said in an interview with Axios that he would support the Republican Party’s nominee, even if that candidate were Mr. Trump. As it became clear that Trump had outlasted his Republican primary challengers, McConnell’s confidant and political strategist, Josh Holmes, and Chris LaCivita, a top Trump campaign adviser, began working to repair the relationship between the two teams.

And on Wednesday, following Trump’s victories on Super Tuesday and after Nikki Haley announced she was withdrawing from the Republican race, McConnell released a statement formally supporting Mr. Trump.

“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the necessary support from Republican voters to be our nominee for president of the United States,” he said in a statement. He added: “It should come as no surprise that as a nominee he will have my support. During his presidency, we worked together to accomplish great things for the American people, including tax reform that boosted our economy and a generational overhaul of our federal judiciary – most importantly the Supreme Court.”

Last week, Mr. McConnell announced that he would step down as minority leader at the end of the year — and acknowledged that his views were no longer in line with a party now firmly in Mr. Trump’s grip.