Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who steadfastly refused to come out of his shell to comment on Donald Trump during the campaign, has decided he's going to fully embrace his new president. He broke his silence in an op-ed in a Kentucky paper. But he spends most of the column trashing President Barack Obama, because he's that kind of guy. Here's the Trump bit, though:
The Herald-Leader’s Jamie Lucke paints a dark picture of America at the conclusion of this year’s presidential campaign. She grimly describes our country as “a nation left tarnished and torn.” But when I examine the results of this election, I don’t see that. Instead, I see democracy at work — and I see a resounding repudiation of the last eight years of failed liberal policies, many of which were imposed on the American people against their will. […]
The election of Donald Trump sends a clear message to the establishment in Washington: it’s no longer business as usual. After eight years of a White House committed to a left-wing ideological agenda, Americans voted for something very different.
The people of Kentucky certainly voted for change as well — overwhelmingly so. It’s sad but not surprising that once again, this newspaper is out of step with its readers.
I meet with constituents across the state, and I know they don’t feel the recent election has left America “tarnished and torn.” They believe that much-needed change in Washington will bring hope and renewal, to our state and our nation. And so do I.
Clearly, McConnell doesn't have a problem with the fact that white nationalism is taking over the White House. (True to form, he's just refusing to comment on Steve Bannon's elevation in the nascent Trump administration.) And clearly, McConnell fully expects that a Republican congress can run roughshod over Trump, bending him to their will. It's going to be a fight between McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan to figure out who's in charge, because neither of them think it's going to be Trump.
For now, Trump seems to be entirely baffled by all this governing stuff. Like, totally, incomprehensibly baffled. But the thing about Trump is that he has a long memory for people who've crossed him. Like Ryan. He also wants to be popular. Really popular. And he was the one elected president. When he's able to come up for air, he's likely going to realize that what McConnell and Ryan are trying to do in his name is very unpopular. And that they are expecting him to be their rubber stamp. That might not go well—for anyone involved.