Months before late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Donald Trump emphasized to reporter Bob Woodward Senator Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) desperation to fill as many judicial vacancies, per new interview recordings released by Woodward on Sunday night.
“You know what Mitch’s biggest thing is in the whole world? His judges,” Trump told Woodward on December 13, 2019 during the reporter’s series of interviews for his book, “Rage.”
The President said that if he had 10 potential ambassadors in the pipes and one potential judicial nominee, McConnell “will absolutely ask me, ‘Please, let’s get the judge approved instead of 10 ambassadors.'”
Trump agreed with the GOP leader’s stance, telling Woodward that “we don’t need” as many ambassadors.
“Mitch’s big thing is judges,” Trump repeated. “Biggest thing.”
The newly released recordings of the President’s comments come amid controversy over McConnell’s pledge to fill the vacancy left by Ginsburg following her death on Friday, despite refusing to do for Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obama’s nominee in the name of allowing the elections to go through first.
McConnell argued on Friday that the country “reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary.”
Listen to the recording below:
Trump tells Woodward in December 2019 “You know what [Mitch McConnell]'s biggest thing is in the whole world? His judges.” pic.twitter.com/5BcVe1EBIN
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) September 21, 2020
Mitch is a lifelong son-of-a-bitch. It–and his billionaire puppeteers–are just more obvious now.
The only news here is that for once in the last five years Trump said something more or less true.
When I was 10 or so my grandmother told me “Republicans only care about money” and she was right.
OT
Speak softly, kindly, intelligently and carry a RBG stick.
No revelation here. McConnell is quite out in the open about his goals. He doesn’t even need to lie to his colleagues and the American people when he makes this known. It’s a refreshing moment of candor for Moscow Mitch.