In an attack on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Former President Donald Trump accused him of helping his “crazy” wife Elaine Chao, who was his Transportation Secretary, “get rich on China.”
Trump attacked Chao in a post on his Truth Social platform after McConnell complained about the quality of Trump endorsed candidates recent in primary campaigns:
“Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working Republican candidates for the United States Senate. This is such an affront to honor and to leadership. He should spend more time (and money!) helping them get elected, and less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China!”
Chao’s father owns shipping company Foremost Group, and her sister is the CEO. While she has no official ties to the business, both she and McConnell have been criticized for her potential conflicts of interest while serving Trump’s administration. Chao also didn’t disclose the family connection to Foremost Group during her confirmation hearing.
Chao resigned from the Trump administration after the January 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, and the DOJ declined to investigate whether she had abused her position in the administration.
Trump has chosen to go after McConnell and Chao in the wake of McConnell’s criticism of Trump endorsed Senate Candidates, saying “I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,” which snowflake Trump took offense to, after his candidates won their nominations in key battleground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia.