Mcconnell Was Not Shocked By Trump's 2020 Loss, Said There Were 'so Many Maalox Moments' During His Presidency: Book

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump huddle after the State of the Union Address in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2020. Mario Tama/Getty Images Mitch McConnell was not shocked by Joe Biden's election victory over Donald Trump, per a new book. "There were so many Maalox moments during the four years," McConnell reportedly told his staff. McConnell treaded carefully in communicating with Biden while Trump disputed the election results. See more stories on Insider's business page. After Joe Biden was declared the US President-elect by most major news outlets last November, many Republicans were in disbelief that the former vice president had beaten then-President Donald Trump.But then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who had served in the upper chamber alongside Biden for decades, was "the least surprised," according to a new book by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, an early copy of which was obtained by Insider.McConnell, who had been a governing partner with Trump, shepherding through three Supreme Court justices and scores of appeals judges, along with passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and other conservative priorities, nonetheless had to contend with the wildly unpredictable president, who could tank a piece of legislation as easily as he could sell it to conservatives.The senator, who at the time was closely watching the Georgia Senate runoff contests that would determine whether Republicans controlled the upper chamber or ceded control to the Democrats, chose to give Trump some space as the election results were still sinking in, which Woodward and Costa wrote in "Peril."Despite being in the same political party, McConnell told his staff that the president's actions could often lead to stressful predicaments, according to the book."There were so many Maalox moments during the four years," he reportedly told his staff, referring to the antacid commonly used to treat stress-induced heartburn.During this time, McConnell continued to tread slightly with Trump - working behind to scenes to keep Biden from calling him for fear of upsetting the president, whom the then-majority leader still wanted to keep in his fold."McConnell worried Trump might react negatively and upend the upcoming, hotly contested runoff Senate elections in Georgia," the book said.