Member-only story
Mitch McConnell’s Statement
The Senate majority leader speaks on the record
My fellow Americans, I’m proud to say that today we Republicans did our duty. Although we were faced with nearly insurmountable odds, we stuck to our principles and voted to acquit President Donald Trump.
As Republicans, our principles have always been and shall always be inviolate, rising above all the difficulties and challenges presented by any particular moment in time or series of events.
We are strongly conscious of our sacred duty as proud Americans to protect freedom and democracy wherever it is threatened. The freedom of wealthy and powerful white men to say and do whatever they want without fear of consequence, and the democracy that enables spineless flabby old men like me to be elected decade after decade by ignorant saps who are so clueless they never realize they’re being taken for an endless ride.
I am of course deeply concerned by the fact we did not stand entirely united during this most recent test. A few of us — and I will be providing the home addresses of those unpatriotic few, along with the names and addresses of their relatives and closest friends — failed to reject overwhelming evidence in favor of blatant self-interest. By so doing they violated every precept we in the Republican Party hold dear.
