Ryun noted that McConnell has never been especially popular with the Republican base and said that’s why Republican candidate Eric Greitens, who is running for Senate in Missouri and angling for Trump’s endorsement, has said he won’t support McConnell for another term as Senate GOP leader.

Ryun said other Senate Republican primary candidates are also thinking about trying to make McConnell an issue in their races.

“I would not be surprised if people in Arizona, Ohio and other key Senate races come out and say that,” he said, referring to Greitens’s pledge to vote against McConnell’s bid for another leadership term.

Ryun said the call to replace McConnell as leader gives Trump a powerful argument as a candidate who would run again as a Republican outsider.

He said Trump is speaking out “to see if we can get real America First leadership in the Senate.”