Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul offer a study in contrasts when it comes to priorities and how they’ve couched their support for Trump.
At a Louisville event, McConnell – who has officially endorsed the embattled former president despite a frosty relationship – said he’s interested to see how Trump and President Biden play off one another and address the issue of age in this week’s debate.
"President Trump is very confident, having rallies around the country this week. President Biden is holing up at Camp David, studying," McConnell said at a Louisville appearance.
McConnell’s endorsement comes despite Trump’s stoking of isolationist tendencies in the GOP, a trend McConnell is actively campaigning against. The outgoing GOP minority leader says it could be argued the country faces a greater threat than at any point since the beginning of World War II.
Paul, meanwhile, has withheld an official endorsement of Trump, over a different set of issues.
"I have concern about all the debt we added during the Trump administration. I'm concerned about the lockdowns. I didn't like closing all the businesses. I didn't like... that we had to borrow in order to send people checks," Paul said in Lexington Wednesday.
While Paul might be more aligned with Trump’s foreign policy leanings, the junior Kentucky senator says he wants assurances from his party’s nominee that he will have access to more information as he probes the origins of COVID-19.