Mitch McConnell mentions wife in response to Donald Trump's remarks on immigrants

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell gave a rare rebuff Tuesday against remarks by former President Donald Trump that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country."

"It strikes me it didn’t bother him when he appointed Elaine Chao secretary of transportation," McConnell told reporters, referring to his wife who was born in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. as a child.

The Kentucky senator has generally avoided commenting on Trump and his controversial statements, opting to stay out of conversations about the 2024 presidential contest.

In the pair's ongoing feud over the future of the Republican party, McConnell's sparse rebukes of the former president include denouncing Trump's dinner with a white supremacist last November and criticizing Trump's calls a week later to terminate the U.S. Constitution.

Other Republican lawmakers have spoken up to criticize Trump's xenophobic language since his New Hampshire rally Saturday and after he doubled down on his comments this week in Iowa.

“I think it’s unhelpful rhetoric,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

Some of Trump's political opponents have offered sharper rebukes.

“He’s disgusting,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “What he’s doing is dog whistling to Americans who feel absolutely under stress and strain from the economy and from the conflicts around the world.”

Contributing: Ken Tran

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: McConnell offers rare criticism of Trump, mentions wife by name