Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellDemocrats tear into Trump’s speech: It was a ‘MAGA rally’Omar: Trump address reads ‘as if a coequal branch of government doesn’t exist’Trump bashes ‘Medicare for All’ in swipe at Sanders MORE (R-Ky.) took an immediate victory lap on Wednesday after the Senate voted to acquit President TrumpDonald John TrumpDemocrats tear into Trump’s speech: It was a ‘MAGA rally’READ: Speaker Pelosi’s response to Trump’s State of the Union addressPelosi hammers Trump’s speech: ‘A manifesto of mistruths’MORE on two House-passed articles of impeachment.
McConnell, speaking to a packed room of reporters, called impeachment a “political loser” and a “colossal political mistake” for Democrats.
“The president has his highest approval rating since he’s been in office. I can tell you as a poll watcher … every one of our people in tough races is in better shape today than they were before the impeachment trial started,” McConnell said.
It’s unclear what, if any, impact impeachment will have on voters in November, when both the White House and both chambers of Congress will be up for grabs.
But McConnell argued during his press conference that the takeaway from the months-long saga should be to not go down the impeachment path again unless there is bipartisan support. The votes against the impeachment articles were bipartisan in the House. Meanwhile, the votes for conviction on abuse of power was bipartisan in the Senate, though it fell short of the 67 votes needed.
“I think this was a thoroughly political exercise from the beginning to the end,” McConnell said.
With 67 votes needed to convict Trump the outcome of the Senate’s trial was all but guaranteed. But the trial wasn’t without drama, including a weeks-long fight over whether to call new witnesses.
McConnell praised Republicans for avoiding calling new witnesses, arguing that Democrats were trying to use the debate to force GOP senators up for reelection into tough votes.
“It was really about not the president … but about trying to take the Senate,” he said.
The Senate ended up rejecting the call for witnesses, with only Sens. Susan CollinsSusan Margaret CollinsCollins: It would be ‘helpful’ for Trump to apologizeSusan Collins challenger: ‘I would vote to remove’ TrumpGOP senators label Trump’s behavior ‘shameful’ but not impeachableMORE (R-Maine) and Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt RomneySusan Collins challenger: ‘I would vote to remove’ TrumpGOP senators label Trump’s behavior ‘shameful’ but not impeachableCollins will vote to acquit TrumpMORE (R-Utah) voting to allow new testimony.
Several Senate Republicans, including Collins, have publicly criticized Trump for asking Ukraine President Zelensky to help “look into” the Bidens, calling it “very poor judgement,” “shameful and wrong” and “improper.”
McConnell, notably, refused to comment several times on Trump’s behavior, saying he was focused on the potential political impact.
“You know that what I’m here to talk about today is the political impact of this,” McConnell said, adding that impeachment was in the “rearview mirror.”
When a reporter followed up and noted he had avoided answering the questions, McConnell joked if it was about to be asked for a third time if the president’s actions were appropriate.
“I think that’s what we’ve just dealt with for three weeks,” McConnell said. “We’ve listened, we’ve voted, we’ve had a number of internal meetings. It’s time to move on. This decision has been made.”
“The consequences of it in terms of the future are up to the voters of the country to decide who they want to lead the government,” he added.
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