McConnell Asked to Pick 'Desert Island' Democratic President

It's a twist on the stranded-on-a-desert-island question. On Tuesday, Mitch McConnell wasn't asked what book or movie he'd want to be stuck with, but rather which living Democratic president he'd want to be saddled with. How the question was posed at a Kentucky Chamber of Commerce event in Lexington: "You're stranded on a desert island and you can only have one companion. Your choices are Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, or Jimmy Carter. Who do you choose?" "Tough choice," he responded, to laughs, per video of the event shared by MSNBC. But the answer was apparently an "easy choice." He ruled out Carter and Obama first, reports the Hill, then added Clinton to the "no" pile.

McConnell said that Biden would be the companion he'd pick, even though NBC News reports the questioner pointed out Carter might have the skills to build a shelter. "Biden and I did four bipartisan deals together during the Obama administration," said McConnell. "I consider him a personal friend. I was the only Republican who went to his son Beau's funeral, so that would be an easy choice. I think Biden is a first-rate person." But don't confuse that with any kind of political alignment. McConnell had this to say in early May, per Axios: "One hundred percent of my focus is on standing up to this administration. What we have in the United States Senate is totally unity from Susan Collins to Ted Cruz in opposition to what the new Biden administration is trying to do to this country." (More Mitch McConnell stories.)