‘Does Mitch call the shots now, Donald?’: Lincoln Project’s new ad takes on McConnell Trump fallout

‘He’s the boss now’

Trump and McConnell in May last year, Washington DC (AFP)

The Lincoln Project has once again trolled the former president, this time with a new advert poking fun at the breakdown of the relationship between Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The political action committee, which bills itself as group of Republics and and former Republicans whose goal is ‘defending democracy from the populist nationalistic ideals and agenda of Donald Trump’, has released numerous attack ads against the former president.

The latest in the series takes aim at Mr McConnell and the fractured relationship between the pair and in the wider party.

“Does Mitch call the shots now, Donald? He says he runs the Republican Party, the party you built. He’s the boss now. He’s even taking shots at you,” says a narrator featured in the ad, as Mr McConnell’s comments on the 6 January Capitol riot play in the background.

While Mr McConnell became an uncomfortable ally of Mr Trump during his presidency, following Joe Biden’s win in November 2020 he has since taken clear steps to distance himself from the former president – most visibly with his 19 January comment on the rioters.

“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the President and other powerful people,” Mr McConnell said, despite himself not acknowledging Mr Biden’s win until six weeks after the election took place.

Indeed, directly after Mr Trump’s loss, Mr McConnell appeared to be keen to retain his alliance with the then-president, supporting his false claim that the election had been stolen.

However, as time rolled by, Mr McConnell turned away from the president’s narrative - infuriating Mr Trump in the process.

“The Republican Party can never again be respected or strong with political ‘leaders’ like Senator Mitch McConnell at its helm,” Mr Trump said after Mr McConnell’s Capitol riot comments

“McConnell’s dedication to business-as-usual, status-quo policies, together with his lack of political insight, wisdom, skill and personality, has rapidly driven him from Majority Leader to Minority Leader, and it will only get worse.”

Since then, the pair have continued to hurl insults at one another, mirroring the divide within the party – which continues to struggle with its identity in the post-Trump era.