Mitch McConnell reportedly threatened to 'crush' Democrat Joe Manchin 'like a grape.' Manchin just hit back, sweetly.

Former White House communications aide Cliff Sims says he's one of the vipers in his new memoir, Team of Vipers, about his 500 days in President Trump's West Wing, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is a snake. At least that was Trump's assessment of McConnell after their first legislative strategy session in February 2017, Sims recounts, according to an excerpt in Politico. The topic of discussion was repealing ObamaCare, and Trump's interest was piqued by "an offhand comment" from McConnell about "doing this without any Democratic votes," Sims writes.

Trump suggested the bill might get support from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), "a friend of mine" from a state he'd just won by 42 points. "Absolutely not," McConnell responded. Manchin will vote no, and "we're going to do everything in our power to beat him when he comes up for re-election in 2018." Trump asked: "Do we have to go after him like that?" And McConnell said yes, "we're going to crush him like a grape."

On Thursday, Manchin — who did vote against the GOP's failed ObamaCare-repeal bill, along with three Republicans, and won re-election in 2018 — made a joke of McConnell's reported threat.

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McConnell's statement had a different effect in the Roosevelt Room, Sims writes:

Read the rest of the excerpt at Politico.