Mitch McConnell just did the most predictable thing ever

He's for Trump!

Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump swept to a series of victories across the nation on Super Tuesday, Mitch McConnell formally bent the knee to the de facto nominee.

“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States,” McConnell said in a statement announcing the endorsement. “It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support.”

McConnell’s decision was met with horror and disgust in some corners of the Internet. Which, I get! After all:

• McConnell and Trump have not spoken in more than 3 years

• In the wake of the January 6 insurrection, McConnell said that Trump was “practically and morally responsible” for the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

• Trump has repeatedly derided McConnell in public, calling him, among other things, an “old broken down crow.”

• Trump actively sought to recruit someone from within the Senate GOP to take down McConnell as leader

• Trump attacked McConnell’s wife — and former Trump Labor Secretary Elaine Chao — for her alleged ties to China. He also referred to her as “Coco Chow.”

• Trump’s relentless focus on his 2020 election conspiracies contributed to Republicans losing the Senate majority (and costing McConnell his job as Senate leader) in early 2021.

There’s more, but you get the idea. McConnell had AMPLE reason to withhold his endorsement from Trump — not to mention the fact that he is stepping aside as GOP leader in November and is almost certainly going to retire when his term expires in 2026.(Meaning: Trump can’t hurt him anymore.)

But, if you subscribe to this newsletter, dear reader, you will not be surprised AT ALL by McConnell’s endorsement. Because I told you it was going to happen — and why! — more than a week ago.

Which is what I do! The key to truly understanding politics is not just simply reading the news. It’s subscribing to people who tell you what is coming around the next corner. That’s the coin of the realm stuff in our modern age of politics and journalism.

And THAT’s the promise I make to you. Become a paid subscriber today — just $5 a month or $50 for the year! — and I vow that I will, on a daily basis, help you be smarter about politics. I will help you see around corners — so you won’t be surprised by what’s coming. So, subscribe today!

Ok, now back to McConnell and, well, why he did it.

The answer is simple. McConnell is, at root, two things:

1. A political pragmatist

2. A loyal Republican

You will notice that neither of those traits make mention of the deep principles or convictions on which McConnell is willing to stake his reputation or career.

In thinking about just that, I was reminded of Jonathan Swan’s interview with McConnell back in 2022. Swan asked McConnell how he squared his critique of Trump after January 6 with his willingness to back the billionaire businessman if he became the Republican presidential nominee.

Here’s how McConnell answered:

“As the Republican leader of the Senate it should not be a front page headline that I will support the Republican nominee for president…I think I have an obligation to support the nominee of my party.”

That’s it. For McConnell, it’s simple. He’s a Republican. That means that whatever he thinks about Trump — and what Trump has done to McConnell’s version of the Republican party — he was going to endorse Trump if he wins the Republican nomination.

What McConnell left unsaid but is absolutely true of his thinking on this is that there is no point in charging at windmills. McConnell isn’t Liz Cheney or even Jeff Flake or Mitt Romney. He’s not going to fight a fight he can’t win — simply for the principle. McConnell clearly doesn’t believe in Trump’s vision of what the Republican party is and should be. But, he also has zero interest in blowing up his political career — or, more importantly at this point, his legacy — for a lost cause.

A word about McConnell and his legacy. There’s no question — now that he has announced he will step down as party leader in the fall — that McConnell’s main concern is on how he will be remembered.

And there is NO chance that McConnell wants one of his last major acts on the national stage to be a refusal to endorse the Republican nominee for president. Just no way he would ever do that.

You can hate McConnell for that view. You can argue he is aiding and abetting an assault on democracy. Or that he is standing by idly while Trump burns down the GOP.

But what you cannot be is surprised. Mitch McConnell is who we thought he was.