Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly believes that impeaching Donald Trump will help rid the Republican Party of the outgoing President's influence. While he is said to welcome the move to start the impeachment proceedings, Twitter users made his so-called nickname viral on the social media platform—"Cocaine Mitch".
As reported, McConnel believes that Trump committed impeachable offenses ahead of a deadly riot at the US Capitol on January 6. After weeks of claiming without any proof that major election fraud was committed to change the results, Trump encouraged his supporters at a rally to march to the Capitol. Hundreds of pro-Trump supporters stormed the building last week. This incident caused not only the destruction inside the building but also the death of five people.
According to recent reports, it is not clear how McConnell would vote in an impeachment trial. The New York Times reported that the Republican leader wants to see the article of impeachment that the House is set to approve on Wednesday.
Fox News has described the majority leader as "furious" and "done" with Trump, while CNN reported that the relationship between Trump and the McConnel has "essentially collapsed". However, at least four Republicans have said that they will vote in favor of impeachment, including Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wy., the third-ranking GOP member in the House.
"The president of the US summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the US of his office and his oath to the Constitution," said Cheney.
'Cocaine Mitch'
This nickname is not new. In 2018, the Kentucky politician was given the uncanny name by a businessman Don Blankenship, who was then running to represent West Virginia in the US Senate.
Blankenship called McConnell "Cocaine Mitch" in two campaign ads. One of those ads used racist language to attack him and his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who is Taiwanese.
"Swamp Captain Mitch McConnell has created millions of jobs for China people," the businessman said in a video.
"The war to drain the swamp and create jobs for West Virginia people has begun. I will beat Joe Manchin and ditch Cocaine Mitch for the sake of the kids," Blankenship said.
Blankenship's campaign revealed the source of the insult. The nickname "Cocaine Mitch" actually came from an article in The Nation written by journalist Lee Fang. He wrote that in 2014 a cargo vessel owned by McConnell's in-laws was set to sail from Colombia to the Netherlands. But the ship never left the port after inspectors found 90 pounds of cocaine stashed in 40 separate packages. Blankenship later users this info to label the Republican leader as a cocaine trafficker.
Now, once again, the nickname appeared on social media after reports claimed that McConnel believes the impeachment push will help rid Trump from the GOP. Social media users made it one of the most trending topics on the platform, while one wrote, "Cocaine Mitch thinks the sex scandal, China money, will not catch up with him after betraying Trump!"
