Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) former chief of staff struggled on Monday to distinguish between President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and that of West Virginia Republican Senate candidate Don Blankenship.
Despite a more mutually beneficial relationship years ago, Blankenship has cultivated a public feud with McConnell for the GOP primary coming up Tuesday. He’s called McConnell’s wife, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, and her family “Chinapeople” and dubbed McConnell himself “Cocaine Mitch” over a stash of cocaine once found in one of Chao’s father’s shipping vessels.
The majority leader thinks Blankenship is unelectable and has quietly urged West Virginia voters, backed by plenty of political dollars, to pick another Republican to pit against Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
McConnell’s former chief of staff, Josh Holmes, now runs a public affairs firm. But he’s still known for his ties to McConnell. When he tried to distinguish between Trump’s brand of rhetoric and Don Blankenship’s, though, MSNBC’s Katy Tur wasn’t having it. Watch below:
