Trump calls McConnell a 'broken down hack' over complaints about 'candidate quality' in Senate races

Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday to blast Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over his criticisms of Republican Senate candidates.

"Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working Republican candidates for the United States Senate[?]" Trump posted on his Truth Social network. "This is such an affront to honor and to leadership. He should spend more time (and money!) helping them get elected, and less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China!"

McConnell has, for years, faced accusations of corruption due to his marriage to former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, whose father was born in China and founded a successful shipping company. See, for example, West Virginia Senate candidate Don Blankenship's 2018 "Cocaine Mitch" ad.

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Trump's comments come after McConnell said Thursday that Republicans might fail to flip the Senate in November and that "candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome."

Meanwhile, Trump is reportedly reconsidering his plan to launch his 2024 presidential campaign before the November midterms, hoping to avoid being blamed if the midterms don't go as well as Republicans hope, one source close to him said.

Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle suggested that Trump deserves plenty of blame already. She blamed Trump for endorsing "weak and inexperienced" candidates in winnable races and argued that the Republican Party's "Trumpy base, which loves to see the GOP's more moderate candidates getting what-for, is helping Trump to inadvertently elect Democrats."