Former House Speaker John Boehner said Monday former President Donald Trump’s reported criticism of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn’t help the Republican Party.
Mr. Trump reportedly targeted Mr. McConnell at a fundraiser event over the weekend in Florida, describing the Kentucky Republican as a “dumb son of a bitch” and a “stone cold loser.”
Mr. Boehner is on a public relations tour for his new book “On the House: A Washington Memoir” in which he slams the “noise-makers” in both parties and criticizes Mr. Trump for being a sore loser after President Biden’s victory.
“I think rhetoric that inflames people is wrong,” Mr. Boehner said about Mr. Trump’s criticism of Mr. McConnell on CBS “This Morning.”
“I don’t care whether it is from the left or the right,” the Ohio Republican said. “It just doesn’t help our country in any way, shape, or form.”
Mr. Boehner said the GOP would be better off focusing on the party’s core principles than getting bogged down in the sort of rhetorical bomb throwing and personal attacks that Mr. Trump helped popularize.
“Frankly, I think the party will be much better off in the long run,” Mr. Boehner said.
In his book, Mr. Boehner praised Mr. McConnell as a smart master of strategy.
Mr. Boehner also said Mr. McConnell “holds his feelings, thoughts, and emotions in a lockbox closed so tightly that whenever one of them seeps out, bystanders are struck silent.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.