LEXINGTON — Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell defended NATO and said he supported “taking the fight to Iran” while fielding questions Wednesday at the University of Kentucky.
McConnell did not get a chance to respond to a question about President Donald Trump’s threat to wipe out Iran’s civilization after an aide abruptly ended the senator’s media availability.
McConnell, who is retiring after 42 years in the U.S. Senate, was accepting thanks from UK President Eli Capilouto and Erik Frankl, Blue Grass Airport president and CEO. McConnell this year helped secure $65 million in federal funding for a new medical research building at the university and $5.4 million to support expanding the airport terminal, including moving the control tower and adding more gates that can accommodate larger aircraft.
Altogether McConnell claimed credit for $2.6 billion coming Kentucky’s way in appropriations approved by Congress in 2026 — and $65 billion over his four-plus decades in Washington.
Speaking to a small audience at the E.S. Good Barn, McConnell, 84 and noticeably frail, said that he has been taking stock “after spending literally half my life in the Senate. … ‘How’d you do? Did you make a difference?’”
McConnell is Kentucky’s longest-serving senator and also the Senate’s longest-serving party leader (18 years). He said the Senate’s makeup — two senators from each state regardless of population — enables small states like Kentucky to “punch above their weight” and that he used his clout to make sure Kentucky “not only had our fair share, but we had actually more than our fair share. Nothing wrong with getting more rather than getting less.”
“What I tried not to do is forget about the people that elected me to the Senate seven times, and what I could do to maximize my seniority and leadership role in improving things at home. So at whatever point things ended, and they always do, I’d be able to look back and say, ‘I think I actually made a difference.’”
War in Iran focus of questions for McConnell
After presentations and questions about the UK and airport projects, McConnell sat alone to take questions about what he called “my day job.”
A television reporter cited $4 gas and asked, “What do you have to say to Kentuckians that are facing some pain at the pump right now?”
McConnell responded, “You talking the events of the last couple days?”
“Gas prices, sir,” the reporter said.
“Well, let me just say with regard to the current conflict, I support taking the fight to Iran. As far as the daily back and forth and how that goes forward, I’m avoiding … that. But I do believe diminishing Iran’s military capability is very important and worth doing.”
He said his office would be putting out another statement, following one last week, defending NATO and its member nations. Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw the United States from the alliance and complained that its European members are not supporting his war on Iran.
A Lantern reporter asked McConnell what he would recommend to repair relations with U.S. allies damaged by the war and for his thoughts on Trump’s threat on Tuesday that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
As is common at McConnell appearances, an aide repeated the question about repairing alliances so the senator could better hear it. She did not ask him the second part of the question about Trump’s threat.
He said, “I can only speak for myself. Alliances are extremely important. NATO has been the most effective treaty of its type in the history of the world. Eighty years old. I’m grateful that the members of NATO are increasing their defense spending. We all needed to do that to meet today’s threats. Today’s threats are China, North Korea, Russia, Iran and Iran’s proxies.
“My own view is that NATO supporting the overall effort to push back against this evil empire has been done well, and I thank them for their continued involvement.”
At that point the aide, McConnell’s State Director Robbin Taylor said, “Okay. All right. That’s it. Thank you.”
The reporter said, “I asked a second question.”
Taylor said, “I think we’re done. Thank you.”
This article is republished under a Creative Commons license from Kentucky Lantern, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
Jamie Lucke is editor in chief of Kentucky Lantern. She has more than 40 years of experience as a journalist. Her editorials for the Lexington Herald-Leader won Walker Stone, Sigma Delta Chi and Green Eyeshade awards. She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky.
