Trump suggests GOP replace McConnell as Senate leader, senator suggests Trump not party's 'future'

Former President Trump said Thursday that he expects his Republican Party to do well during next year's midterm elections but suggest they replace Sen. Mitch McConnell as their Senate leader.

"I think we're gonna do very well," Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo. "We need good leadership. Mitch McConnell has not done a great job. I think they should change Mitch McConnell."

McConnell later on Fox News seemed to suggest Trump was not the future of the Republican Party.

"We're looking to the future, not the past," McConnell said on the cable news network. "And if you want to see the future of the Republican Party, watch Tim Scott's response to President Biden last night. He's the future. That's where we're headed. We're not preoccupied with the past, but looking forward."

Scott, a GOP senator from South Carolina and the chamber's only black Republican, on Wednesday night delivered the party's response Biden's address to a joint session of Congress. 

Trump and McConnell have had uneven relationship that got worse after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, after which the senator held then-President Trump responsible.

Trump during a recent speech called McConnell a "dumb son of a bitch."

McConnell was seen Wednesday night in House chambers before the Biden speech talking to Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of House GOP leadership, who voted to impeach Trump.