Mitch McConnell says he isn't afraid to revoke his Trump endorsement

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in the Bloomberg Politics' "Masters in Politics" podcast that a lot of Americans aren't thrilled with their choices for president — and that Donald Trump has a lot of maturing to do before November if he wants to earn the support of hesitant Republicans. "I'm not going to speculate about what he might say, or what I might do. But I think it's pretty clear and I've been pretty clear publicly about how I think he ought to change direction and I hope that's what we are going to see," McConnell said, adding that he isn't afraid to un-endorse the presumptive Republican nominee if push comes to shove.

McConnell, who has condemned Trump's comments about Hispanic judge Gonzalo Curiel, said in the podcast that "I object to a whole series of things that he's said — vehemently object to them. I think all of that needs to stop. Both the shots at people he defeated in the primary and these attacks on various ethnic groups in the country."

McConnell added that the vice president pick is going to be especially important to a candidate like Trump going forward: "He needs someone highly experienced and very knowledgeable because it's pretty obvious he doesn't know a lot about the issues."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

For now, McConnell still supports Trump. "For all of his obvious shortcomings, Donald Trump is certainly a different direction, and I think if he is in the White House he'll have to respond to the right-of-center world which elected him, and the things that we believe in. So I'm comfortable supporting him," McConnell said. Jeva Lange