Mitch McConnell Thinks Trump's 'Old Crow' Nickname Is Fine: 'It's My Favorite Bourbon'

Chip Somodevilla/Getty; Old Crow

Sen. Mitch McConnell isn't concerned about a nickname given to him by former President Donald Trump, who's been referring to him as an "Old Crow" since the former allies became political adversaries.

"It's my favorite bourbon," McConnell said in an interview with The Washington Examiner, referring — as he likes to do when asked about Trump — to an 80-proof, aged Kentucky spirit that takes its name from distiller James C. Crow.

"Aren't we using Old Crow as my moniker now?" McConnell, 79, said, turning to a staffer who was on hand for the interview. "It was Henry Clay's favorite bourbon," he added, referring to the famous Kentucky lawmaker who served in the House and Senate in the 1800s and was featured in advertisements for the bourbon brand.

Trump, with his history of colorful nicknames for his nemeses, certainly doesn't mean it as a compliment. But drawing a connection between a Kentucky lawmaker and a classic brand of his state's beloved libation likely doesn't sting quite as much as a long sip of the stuff.

As McConnell said in the past, he considered the insult to be "quite an honor."

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WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 16: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) talk to reporters in the Rose Garden following a lunch meeting at the White House October 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump and McConnell tried to erase reporting that they were not on the same page with the GOP legislative agenda and priorities. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Sen. Mitch McConnell (left) and former President Donald Trump

Just last week, Trump slipped the nickname into a response to Mike Pence's declaration that the former president was "wrong" to say he could have used his position to overturn the 2020 election results while Congress was convening on Jan. 6, 2021.

"Just saw Mike Pence's statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything with respect to the Electoral Vote Count, other than being an automatic conveyor belt for the Old Crow Mitch McConnell to get Biden elected President," Trump said.

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He's added a word here and there, referring to McConnell as "the Broken Old Crow" as well as "Old Broken Crow" and "Old Broken-Down Crow."

There's little love lost between the two conservatives: McConnell, who had been a key legislative ally for Trump's presidency, soured on him in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. Trump, likewise, has made no secret of his disdain for the longtime Republican Senate leader.

As for being McConnell being a crow, as a New York writer pointed out, the bird analogy has some parallels.

"Crows think they are in charge of everything," reads a column in the Suburban Times. "They fly were they want; they rarely back down, and they carry a grudge."