Mitch McConnell gives wry nod to Donald Trump with Kentucky Derby gift to GOP senators

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell brought the Kentucky Derby spirit to Capitol Hill Thursday — and had a little fun with former President Donald Trump's mocking nickname for him by gifting his fellow Republican senators a bottle of Old Crow bourbon.

GOP senators take turns hosting their weekly luncheon in Washington, D.C., and McConnell hosts it the week of Derby each year, when the sports world zeroes in on his home state and its historic horse race.

He also gives his colleagues a bottle of bourbon every year, in honor of the Bluegrass State's other signature industry. And this time around, he picked Old Crow — which mirrors the "old crow" nickname Trump sometimes trots out for McConnell when he publicly criticizes him.

Made by Beam Suntory, of Jim Beam fame, Old Crow bourbon dates back to the 1800s.

McConnell recently joked to the Washington Examiner that it's his favorite bourbon and pointed out it was former Kentucky Congressman Henry Clay's favorite too. (Clay, who represented the commonwealth in the early-to-mid 1800s and served as Speaker of the House of Representatives and as U.S. Secretary of State, actually appeared in ads for Old Crow back then.)

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Apart from the bourbon, McConnell treated his colleagues Thursday to a lunch packed with Southern food, including fried okra, corn pudding, fried chicken and biscuits.

"I am so proud to call Kentucky home and bring the spirit of the Kentucky Derby to our Nation’s Capitol. This event unites everyone from across my home state and puts the best of the Commonwealth on display under the Twin Spires of Churchill Downs," McConnell told The Courier Journal in a statement. "Kentucky is recognized as the world capital of both bourbon and horses, industries that contribute to our state’s economy and tourism.

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"As the world turns its eyes to the Commonwealth for the 148th Kentucky Derby, I’m bringing a little slice of those traditions to the United States Senate.”

Trump's political relationship with McConnell fractured after the ex-president lost the 2020 election to Democratic President Joe Biden, and especially after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

In the aftermath of that attack, McConnell said Trump is “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of” Jan. 6. However, he voted to acquit Trump of inciting the insurrection during the ex-president’s second impeachment trial last year and has mostly stayed mum about Trump in public since then.

Trump is reportedly expected to go to the Derby, in McConnell's home city of Louisville, on Saturday for a political fundraiser hosted by a pro-Trump PAC at Churchill Downs.

Morgan Watkins is The Courier Journal's chief political reporter. Contact her at mwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Mitch McConnell gives Old Crow bourbon as wry Kentucky Derby gift