Former President Trump called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) a “piece of s—” during an interview with New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman for her forthcoming book.
The Atlantic published an excerpt of Haberman's book on Sunday, including Trump’s criticisms of the top Senate Republican, whose relationship with the former president soured over their disagreements on the 2020 election. Trump has since nicknamed McConnell “The Old Crow.”
“The Old Crow’s a piece of shit,” Trump told Haberman during an interview at Mar-a-Lago, according to the excerpt.
Haberman’s book, titled “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America,” will be released on Oct. 4. Haberman said in the released excerpt that she interviewed Trump three times for the book following his time in the White House.
The New York Times reporter, who previously worked for Politico, the New York Post and New York Daily News, gained a reputation during the Trump presidency for repeatedly breaking scoops on the administration.
Haberman wrote that Trump placed a consistent importance on strength during his presidency and decades-long career in the real estate business, including praise of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who removed term limits on the country’s presidency and is gearing up for a third term atop the Chinese Communist Party.
She also noted that Trump also heaped praise on the strength of Meade Esposito, a former party boss who forcefully dominated Democratic politics in Brooklyn, adding that she asked the former president if he expected the White House to function the same way.
“Well, I figured that the Mitch McConnells would be like him, in the sense of strength,” Trump said, according to Haberman.
McConnell and Trump worked congruently for much of his administration, confirming multiple conservative Supreme Court justices, passing sweeping tax cuts and other GOP priorities.
But since leaving the White House, Trump has repeatedly condemned McConnell after he congratulated Joe Biden on winning the presidency in December, 2020.
Trump has maintained without evidence that mass voter fraud led to Biden’s victory.
The former president called McConnell an “absolute loser” in a statement earlier this month.
The Hill has reached out to a McConnell's office for comment.
