The ballad of Mitch and Donald

Let's talk about Trump and McConnell's phony bromance

Sen. Mitch McConnell and President Trump.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell held a remarkable press conference on Monday in the White House Rose Garden. After months of sniping at each other over the failure to repeal ObamaCare, and warnings from the president that he would target Senate Republican incumbents in upcoming primaries, the two leaders of the GOP implausibly insisted that they have a great working relationship. "We have the same agenda," McConnell told Trump in his opening statement. "We've been friends and acquaintances for a long time."

Trump was no less effusive in his praise for McConnell. "We are probably now, despite what we read," the president said, "at least as far as I'm concerned, closer than ever before. And," he added, "the relationship is very good."

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Edward Morrissey

Edward Morrissey has been writing about politics since 2003 in his blog, Captain's Quarters, and now writes for HotAir.com. His columns have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Post, The New York Sun, the Washington Times, and other newspapers. Morrissey has a daily Internet talk show on politics and culture at Hot Air. Since 2004, Morrissey has had a weekend talk radio show in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and often fills in as a guest on Salem Radio Network's nationally-syndicated shows. He lives in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, and his two granddaughters. Morrissey's new book, GOING RED, will be published by Crown Forum on April 5, 2016.