Mitch McConnell deepens GOP civil war by warning he could OPPOSE Trump-backed candidates, Lara Trump

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Mitch McConnell has said he is open to opposing any 'unelectable' candidates in 2022, even if they are strongly backed by Donald Trump, as he wrestles with how to handle a deeply-divided party following Trump's impeachment hearing.

McConnell voted on Saturday to acquit the former president, but then publicly attacked him, accusing him of a 'disgraceful dereliction of duty' in his most critical remarks ever uttered.

His tightrope walk between defending and demonizing the former president impressed few.

On Sunday, McConnell told Politico that he was now focused on the future - with or without Trump's support.

'My goal is, in every way possible, to have nominees representing the Republican Party who can win in November,' he said.

'Some of them may be people the former president likes. Some of them may not be. The only thing I care about is electability.'

McConnell did not mention any names.

Candidates backed by Trump such as QAnon believer Marjorie Taylor Greene, who only entered Congress in January, have already caused him and his party significant headaches, with her previous incendiary comments.

Other candidates likely to be backed by Trump, such as his daughter-in-law Lara, expected to make a run for the Senate in 2022, could not count on McConnell's support, he said.

'I'm not predicting the president would support people who couldn't win,' McConnell said.

'But I do think electability — not who supports who — is the critical point.'

McConnell declined to say whether he would support the former president if he seeks re-election in four years time.

'I'm focused on '22,' he said.

Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican senator for West Virginia, admitted that the party was at a crucial juncture with deep divisions between loyal Trumpites and those committed, like her, to McConnell.

'I don't know what happens to the party as a whole in terms of the folks deeply committed to President Trump,' she told the site.

'But I hope they stick with us.'

Andy Biggs, a representative for Arizona and head of the arch conservative House Freedom Caucus, said many people in his party were upset at McConnell.

'A lot of people are frustrated with his comments. I'm not going to sugarcoat it,' he said, adding that Trump's influence remained.

'The fact he is no longer in the White House does not mean he is not the leader of the movement he started four or five years ago.'