McConnell & Trump: It’s complicated.
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 15 November 2021
⏱️ ? minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The intertwined legacies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former President Donald Trump. And, what happens to a country when its borders are eroded by climate change.
Read more:
Mitch McConnell is the most powerful elected Republican in the country. But the most influential member of the GOP is arguably still former president Donald Trump. That dynamic has become the basis for a tense, awkward, sometimes pugilistic alliance between the two men -- one that could define the future of the Republican Party. In recorded telephone interviews with the politicians, reporter Michael Kranish examines a relationship fraying at the seams.
As COP26 concludes, the sinking island nation of Tuvalu prompts the question: Are you still a country if you’re underwater? William Booth reported from the U.N. climate summit.
If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners -- one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Good afternoon. |
| 0:04.3 | Senator McConnell, thank you for doing this. |
| 0:05.8 | Appreciate it. |
| 0:06.8 | How are you? |
| 0:07.8 | I'm fine. |
| 0:09.3 | A few weeks ago, reporter Michael Krannish got a very important Republican on the phone. |
| 0:17.4 | Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. |
| 0:19.5 | He is along with Governor McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, the most powerful elected Republican |
| 0:25.1 | in the country. |
| 0:26.1 | But the most powerful Republican in the country is former President Trump. |
| 0:30.2 | McConnell and Trump have butted heads for years and especially since the election. |
| 0:34.3 | Hello, Michael. |
| 0:35.3 | How are you? |
| 0:36.3 | Good, Mr. President. |
| 0:37.3 | Thank you so much for doing this. |
| 0:38.3 | I appreciate it. |
| 0:39.3 | That got Michael thinking, how do these two party leaders feel about each other? |
| 0:46.3 | And how could that affect where the party goes next? |
| 0:50.6 | Well, if McConnell were more like the Democrats who fight much harder than and stick together |
| 1:02.1 | much better, he would never have conceded the election. |
| 1:07.9 | President Trump is pulling a lot of the strings in the party. |
| 1:11.0 | He's talking to Senate candidates who want his endorsement. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Washington Post, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Washington Post and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.