Former President Donald Trump took aim at several Republican officials, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, while speaking at a rally on Saturday in Phoenix, Arizona.
Mr. Trump dubbed Mr. McConnell as being “an old crow,” while alleging the Kentucky Republican begged for his endorsement in the 2020 election and turned against him after receiving it.
“He was way down and I endorsed him and he went up 20 points,” Mr. Trump said. “Then he got up and said the nastiest things about me. That’s the way politics is I guess.”
Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell, who worked closely together when he was president, have reportedly not spoken in months.
In recent months, Mr. Trump double-downed on his criticism of Mr. McConnell, saying he should have done more to contest the results of the 2020 election, which he has long claimed was mired in voter fraud.
The former president also recently implied Mr. McConnell would be in a better position of moving legislation forward had he still been in the White House.
Mr. McConnell has been navigating contentious talks over several months on getting a bipartisan infrastructure deal passed in the upper chamber.
“Had Mitch McConnell fought for the presidency like he should have, there would right now be presidential vetoes on all of the phased legislation that he has proven to be incapable of stopping,” Mr. Trump said in a statement in June.
Mr. Trump also took a jab at Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who was previously floated as a potential Senate candidate.
“They came to see me, they said ‘sir, would you like him to run for Senate?’ I said, he’s not getting my endorsement, I can tell you that,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Ducey refused Mr. Trump’s push to try and overturn the election results in his favor, and has said little about the ongoing audit in Maricopa County that was initiated by state Senate Republicans.
A June poll conducted by consulting firm Bendixen & Amandi International found that 49% of respondents held an unfavorable view of the governor, compared to 47% who said they approved.
Among Republicans, 72% found him favorable, compared to 25% who viewed Mr. Ducey as unfavorable.
The poll was conducted between June 17 to 23, and had a margin of error of +/- 4 points.
“When I did rallies, he always wanted to be in the front row,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Ducey. “I would introduce him and he wouldn’t get [much] applause, he’d get a lot of boos and I thought this guy isn’t very popular. But now, you know what, he’s not very popular with me either.”
Mr. Trump also made references to Sens. Ben Sasse, Nebraska Republican, and Mitt Romney, Utah Republican, while attacking several lawmakers who challenged him in office as being Republicans-in-name-only, or RINOs.
The former president predicted that many will be ousted by primary challengers in the midterms.
Mr. Trump also made a brief mention of former Vice President Mike Pence, who certified the 2020 election results, despite the president’s hopes that he would reject them.
The crowd booed at Mr. Pence’s reference.
“I only wish that my friend Mike Pence had that additional courage to send the results back to the legislatures,” Mr. Trump said. “Somebody gave him bad advice.”
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