Kentucky Democrats, wearing Russian cossack hats and waving Russian flags, continued to embrace the "Moscow Mitch" nickname that went viral last week, chanting it at U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at Saturday’s Fancy Farm picnic.
The nickname went viral after MSNBC host Joe Scarbarough criticized the senator for blocking two election security bills, despite warnings from intelligence officials that future Russian interference in elections is likely. McConnell responded on the Senate floor saying the criticism over what he sees as a policy disagreement is “modern-day McCarthy-ism.” The Kentucky Democratic Party then launched an online store, selling products depicting McConnell wearing a Russian hat with taglines such as “Just Say Nyet.”
McConnell, in his Fancy Farm speech, did not respond to the chants or the moniker, and instead drew cheers from Republican supporters by attacking Democratic 2020 Senate Challenger Amy McGrath.
“They handpicked Amy ‘McGaffe’....oh, I mean McGrath. She sends her regrets. She’s still working up an answer on Brett Kavanaugh with her friends on MSNBC,” McConnell said.
McConnell was referring to when McGrath flip-flopped on whether she would have voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh if she was a senator. McConnell also criticized McGrath for failing to show up this year to the Fancy Farm picnic.
In a statement, McGrath’s spokesperson says her campaign “will never turn her back on anyone as senator,” pointing to her visit to east Kentucky to be with protesting coal miners, as an example.
The Kentucky Democratic Partyrecently said it’s made $200,000 in two days off of merchandise featuring the “Moscow Mitch” slogan.
