Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is brushing off former President Donald Trump’s “Old Crow” nickname he uses to attack the senator.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner on Tuesday, McConnell addressed the nickname as he said, “It’s my favorite bourbon.”
He added, “Aren’t we using Old Crow as my moniker now? It was Henry Clay’s favorite bourbon.”
His comments referenced the Old Crow bourbon distilled by Beam Suntory, which the distillery claims was enjoyed by famous 19th-century Americans such as writer Mark Twain and President Ulysses S. Grant.
Henry Clay represented Kentucky in the House and Senate for several terms in the 1800s.
Trump has used the phrase “old crow” to attack McConnell over the past year. He has called for McConnell to step down as minority leader and labeled him a “disaster” for not blocking President Joe Biden’s roughly $1 trillion infrastructure package.
“Mitch McConnell is a disaster. The Republicans have to get a new leader. Mitch McConnell allowed this to happen. The ‘un-frastructure’ bill, I call it ‘un-frastructure,’ not infrastructure,” Trump told Fox News in December.
He added, “There was no way that that should have been passed.”
Nine Republican senators voted to pass the infrastructure bill, including McConnell.
However, McConnell does not seem worried about a potential challenge to his leadership.
When asked by the Examiner if he is concerned about Trump’s call for new leadership, McConnell responded, “Every reporter in town, including, I’m sure, you, have been probing to find one for months, right?”
The Examiner noted that “no Senate Republican has announced their support for deposing McConnell. Even in the Alabama Senate primary, none of the three contenders are on record as being committed to voting against McConnell for leader if they are elected this year.”
“That’s the answer to your question,” McConnell said.
