Trump, McConnell meet face-to-face for 1st time in nearly 4 years
When Donald Trump met with Republican senators Thursday in Washington, he came face-to-face with Mitch McConnell for the first time in three-and-a-half years.
In fact, the former president and Senate Minority Leader have not spoken to each other since Dec. 15, 2020.
That was the day that McConnell gave a speech on the Senate floor congratulating Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their 2020 election victory.
As I described in my book, "Betrayal," Trump was so enraged by McConnell's speech that he called his office minutes after it was over.
McConnell later told me that Trump yelled at him in an expletive-ridden rant, insisting he had not lost the election.
When Trump finally stopped yelling, McConnell said to him, "Well, the Electoral College is the final word."
Trump then hung up -- and that was the last time the two men spoke to each other.
Two months later, McConnell voted "not guilty" in Trump's impeachment trial, but in a speech immediately following the vote, he offered a searing condemnation of Trump's actions on and before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump's supporters -- and suggested the former president should be prosecuted.
"Former President Trump's actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful dereliction of duty," McConnell said. "The House accused the former president of, quote, 'incitement.' That is a specific term from the criminal law.
"Let me put that to the side for one moment and reiterate something I said weeks ago: There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day," he continued.
"The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president. And their having that belief was a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories, and reckless hyperbole which the defeated president kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet Earth."
Asked on Wednesday about his meeting with Trump on Thursday, McConnell said he would support the Republican "nominee."
"I said three years ago, right after the Capitol was attacked, that I would support our nominee regardless of who it was -- including him," McConnell told reporters. "I've said earlier this year, I support him -- he's earned the nomination by the voters all across the country. And of course, I'll be at the meeting tomorrow."
McConnell and Trump finally held their first face-to-face conversation in more than three years Thursday afternoon.
Walking back into the U.S. Capitol following the GOP lunch with Trump, McConnell confirmed that the two leaders had a chance to talk a few times during the meeting, which he described the meeting as entirely positive, with Trump earning multiple standing ovations.
"We had a really positive meeting. He and I got a chance to talk a little bit and shook hands a few times. He got a lot of standing ovations. It was an entirely positive meeting. Mitt Romney was there as well," McConnell said.
"I can't think of anything to tell you out of it that was negative. I thought it was an entirely positive meeting," he told reporters.
ABC News' Mariam Khan contributed to this report.
