--- title: Why President Trump and Mitch McConnell Need Each Other description: President Trump is set to meet with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as the fate of his first term in office relies on this relationship. canonical: https://time.com/4983799/why-president-trump-and-mitch-mcconnell-need-each-other/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-16T17:01:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:57:09.585Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why President Trump and Mitch McConnell Need Each Other og:description: President Trump is set to meet with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as the fate of his first term in office relies on this relationship. og:url: https://time.com/4983799/why-president-trump-and-mitch-mcconnell-need-each-other/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why President Trump and Mitch McConnell Need Each Other twitter:description: President Trump is set to meet with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as the fate of his first term in office relies on this relationship. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why President Trump and Mitch McConnell Need Each Other > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1e2841c7-dca6-4c17-a720-3a7c180b4715&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Rex Tillerson Brushes Off Drama with President Trump [Watch (HLS stream): Rex Tillerson Brushes Off Drama with President Trump](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dCJakj5w.m3u8) (0:37)  _Published 2017-10-15. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday ducked, danced and sidestepped the question of whether he truly called President Donald Trump a "moron," dismissing the brouhaha as the "petty stuff" of Washington._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Oct 16, 2017 5:01 PM UTC Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday ducked, danced and sidestepped the question of whether he truly called President Donald Trump a "moron," dismissing the brouhaha as the "petty stuff" of Washington. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Oct 16, 2017 5:01 PM UTC President Trump is set to meet Monday with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as the fate of his first term in office increasingly relies on his uneasy relationship with his fellow Republican. Trump and McConnell have feuded over rhetoric, expectations, and the failure of the GOP efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, but now they need each other more than ever. Establishment Republicans are increasingly on the defensive over their meager legislative accomplishments at a time of unified GOP control and facing renewed threats of challenge from the nationalist wing of the party. Trump, meanwhile, has placed the hopes of the first year of his presidency on the fate of tax reform — for which he needs McConnell’s legislative muscle. But time is running out even for that shared priority, as the clock ticks down to 2018, and the midterm elections. Pharmaceutical distributors’ efforts to undermine the enforcement power of the DEA are in the spotlight Monday after a bombshell report by the Washington Post and ’60 Minutes’ into the opioid epidemic. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) called for Trump to withdraw the nomination of Rep. Tom Marino to be the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, over concerns about his efforts pushing legislation that benefited drug distributors. Kelly tries to fill jobs. Tillerson responds to Corker. And fact checking Trump’s tax plan claims. _Here are your must reads:_ **Must Reads** [Ex-DEA Agent: Opioid Crisis Fueled by Drug Industry and Congress ](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-dea-agent-opioid-crisis-fueled-by-drug-industry-and-congress/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=newsletter%5Faxiosam&stream=top-stories)Whistleblower Joe Rannazzisi says drug distributors pumped opioids into U.S. communities \[CBS\] [The Drug Industry’s Triumph Over the DEA ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/investigations/dea-drug-industry-congress/?tid=ss%5Ftw&utm%5Fterm=.1752ff56398c)Amid a targeted lobbying effort, Congress weakened the DEA’s ability to go after drug distributors \[Washington Post\] [No One Knows What Steve Bannon’s “War” Will Actually Look Like ](https://www.buzzfeed.com/tariniparti/steve-bannon-is-pledging-to-support-dozens-of-political?utm%5Fterm=.xt6ReR52g#.shKYBY85r)The former top Trump strategist is working to take down establishment Republicans \[BuzzFeed\] [Kelly Tries to Get Empty Administration Jobs Filled Fast ](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/15/kelly-trump-administration-jobs-243768)Conservatives are demanding faster action on vacant political appointments \[Politico\] [President Trump Put the Fate of the Iran Nuclear Deal in Congress’ Hands ](http://time.com/4982261/donald-trump-iran-nuclear-deal-congress/)What it means \[TIME\] [The Women’s March Invited Bernie Sanders. ](http://time.com/4981357/bernie-sanders-womens-march-convention/)Then the Trouble Started \[TIME\] **Sound Off** “Those diplomatic efforts will continue until the first bomb drops.” — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to CNN on North Korea “I checked. I’m fully intact.” — Tillerson to CNN responding to Sen. Bob Corker’s charge that he’d been “gelded” **Bits and Bites** [‘This Is Our War.’ Steve Bannon Tears Into GOP Agenda](http://time.com/4983026/steve-bannon-gop-values-voter-summit/) \[TIME\] [Fact Check: Trump’s tax plan is far from the biggest ever](https://www.apnews.com/1af7ab7bba5d49ed9f596879b6ce08e9/AP-FACT-CHECK:-Trump%27s-tax-plan-is-far-from-the-biggest-ever) \[Associated Press\] [Trump campaign’s legal spending tops $1 million during third quarter](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/15/trump-campaign-spending-legal-bills-243791) \[Politico\] [President Trump Brags About Drop in Health Insurance Stocks](http://time.com/4982699/donald-trump-executive-order-health-care/) \[TIME\] [Robert Mueller’s Team Just Interviewed Trump’s Former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus](http://time.com/4982593/robert-mueller-russia-investigation-reince-priebus-donald-trump/) \[TIME\] [‘Petty Stuff.’ Rex Tillerson Brushes Off Drama with President Trump](http://time.com/4983238/rex-tillerson-president-trump-tension/) \[Associated Press\] [Trump Says He Met With the President of the Virgin Islands. But That’s Him](http://time.com/4982458/donald-trump-president-virgin-islands/) \[TIME\] ## Transcript I think this is an unconventional president. He uses unconventional communication tools, he uses unconventional techniques to motivate change. And for people that have been around Washington a long time, this is a place that, you know better than I, you've been longer than I have. This is not a place that likes to change. I'm not gonna deal with that kind of petty stuff, I mean, this is a town The same is to relish gossip, rumour, innuendo, and they feed on it. They feed on one another in a very destructive way. These are the games of Washington. These are the destructive games of this town. They are not helpful to anyone, and so my position on it is, I'm not playing. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4983799/why-president-trump-and-mitch-mcconnell-need-each-other/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4983799/why-president-trump-and-mitch-mcconnell-need-each-other/"},"headline":"Why President Trump and Mitch McConnell Need Each Other","datePublished":"2017-10-16T17:01:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-08T09:57:09.585Z","description":"Morning Must Reads: October 16","url":"https://time.com/4983799/why-president-trump-and-mitch-mcconnell-need-each-other/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4983799/why-president-trump-and-mitch-mcconnell-need-each-other/","name":"Why President Trump and Mitch McConnell Need Each Other"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Rex Tillerson Brushes Off Drama with President Trump","description":"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday ducked, danced and sidestepped the question of whether he truly called President Donald Trump a \"moron,\" dismissing the brouhaha as the \"petty stuff\" of Washington.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/dCJakj5w/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-10-15T20:41:34.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dCJakj5w.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4983799/why-president-trump-and-mitch-mcconnell-need-each-other/","duration":"PT37S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4983799/why-president-trump-and-mitch-mcconnell-need-each-other/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```