Editor’s note (8/24/22): This article
Former U.S. president and reality show star Donald Trump accused his former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and her family of working to “get rich on China.”
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump called Chao “crazy” and criticized her husband, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), for stating that the Republican party might find it challenging to flip the Senate in the upcoming elections.
“Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working [sic] Republican candidates for the United States Senate,” Trump’s post read. “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 [sic] China!”
The former president has previously called McConnell “disloyal,” even after the minority leader publicly stated he would support Trump’s presidential bid in 2024.
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McConnell apparently further enraged Trump after he said on Thursday that the GOP has a better chance of flipping the House than the Senate.
“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,” he was quoted as saying.
Chao, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, came under heavy scrutiny over her alleged conflicts of interest in relation to U.S. shipping company Foremost Group, which her father founded and her sister runs as its CEO. Although the company has an office in New York City, it does most of its business in China.
While she has no formal links to the company, Chao’s critics have raised questions about whether she used government resources to support her family’s business.
Chao drew further backlash for accompanying her father in media appearances. In response, her team used the shared appearances as opportunities to share her story as the first Chinese American and Asian American woman to hold a position in a presidential cabinet.
Chao retained her support for Trump while he was still in office even after he and her husband disagreed on several issues. She officially resigned from her post after the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
