McConnell’s unpopularity a ‘mystery’ to Romney: ‘I don’t understand that’

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) publicly questioned why Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) polls so poorly during a press conference after announcing his retirement from the Senate on Wednesday.

“I have a great deal of respect for Leader McConnell and one of the mysteries to me is why he is so unpopular in national polls. I don’t understand that,” Romney said. “He is the single reason why we have a conservative Supreme Court. I hope people recognize that.

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“He is also a very effective leader of our group, when you have 50 people, a Republican group, 50 of us — every one of them thinks they ought to be president. How you lead a group like that isn’t easy and he has done it with skill over a number of years. I have nothing but the highest respect for him,” the Utah senator added.

Romney’s praise for the Republican leader comes after a growing majority of Americans expressed concerns about the impact of McConnell’s age and health on his job performance, according to a new poll released last week.

The poll found a majority of Democrats and Republicans said McConnell’s health and age “severely limit [his] ability to do the job.” The poll was conducted days after the Kentucky senator appeared to freeze at the podium for about 30 seconds when speaking with reporters in his home state, the second incident that happened in a matter of months. According to a RealClearPolitics average of recent polls, McConnell has a 60.7% unfavorable rating, compared to 22.7% who view the Republican leader favorability.

“I have had personal conversations and private conversations and his public pronouncements and I’ve been nothing but more impressed with him,” Romney said.

McConnell in turn praised Romney in a statement after the Utah senator announced he would not run for reelection next year.

“The junior senator for Utah has made remarkably efficient use of his brief tenure in the Senate to deliver on important promises to people he represents — from sensible management of America’s public lands to reduced reliance on China for critical supply chains,” McConnell said.

Romney, a frequent Donald Trump critic who voted to impeach the former president twice, panned the Trump legacy.

“The Trump wing of the party, I haven’t heard policy, other than build a wall. By the way, he was president, he was president for four years, he built 50 miles,” Romney said.

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The Utah senator also emphasized he believes Trump should not be credited with the tax overhaul undertaken during his administration, crediting former House Speaker Paul Ryan instead.

“Well the tax, that was Paul Ryan,” Romney said. “It’s not a policy-centric approach and if you don’t have policy to match your rhetoric, ultimately, it’s not going to be successful.”