To hear Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tell it, this week’s NATO summit was a pivotal moment for his self-described “top priority” as he transitions out as Republican leader – stamping out the Donald Trump-inspired foreign policy ethos from the GOP.
“This is going to be my top priority. No question about it,” McConnell said in an interview this week. McConnell added that he might even start to hold court with reporters in the halls of the Senate. “This is the most important thing going on in the world right now,” the Kentucky Republican said.
The longtime GOP leader sat down with us in his office Wednesday evening to discuss the NATO summit and his key mission as senator. So far, McConnell likes what he’s seeing.
Consider what happened over the last week or so:
– In a relatively short period of time, the number of NATO nations meeting the alliance’s defense spending target nearly quadrupled to a record high. McConnell has been pushing for this for several years, saying some allies were taking a “holiday from history.”
– Speaker Mike Johnson, who held up Ukraine aid for months despite public pressure from McConnell, is now starting to sound a lot like the Kentucky Republican when talking about national security, especially Ukraine.
– In private meetings this week, NATO heads of state expressed to McConnell a desire to move in the United States’ direction when it comes to countering China — a major shift.
– McConnell also had one-on-one time with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Tuesday night. McConnell has proven to be Zelensky’s most valuable ally in Washington since the opposition to Ukraine aid mainly comes from his party.
– A pro-Ukraine Republican defeated a Trump-backed primary challenger in Utah’s GOP Senate primary. McConnell noted that no Republican who backed Ukraine lost a primary this cycle:
If Trump wins in November, McConnell’s mission could get much tougher, especially since Republicans defer to Trump on nearly everything these days. Passing another Ukraine aid package, for example, could be an even heavier lift.
On top of that, Trump could pick a chief McConnell antagonist on foreign policy — Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) — as his running mate. McConnell declined to comment on that possibility.
Later in our discussion, McConnell offered a pointed critique of the Trumpian foreign policy doctrine.
“The language they used in the ‘20s and ‘30s are similar to what you hear today — ‘America First,’” McConnell said, referring to Trump’s campaign slogan.
McConnell did, however, “ironically” give Trump credit for NATO nations’ defense spending boost because Trump called out those that hadn’t met the threshold.
Trump’s Orbán obsession: It’s clear that McConnell’s bid to stop Trump and his allies from cozying up to Hungarian strongman Prime Minister Viktor Orbán isn’t working yet. Despite McConnell’s warnings as recently as two days ago, Trump will welcome Orbán at his Mar-a-Lago estate today.
McConnell has been pleading with conservatives to stop idolizing Orbán by noting his coziness with Russia, China and Iran. Just days ago, Orbán went to Moscow and parroted Kremlin talking points about the Ukraine war. The Hungarian leader also traveled to Beijing.
Here’s McConnell:
Well, not quite. Not yet, at least.
