And Trump endorsed him TWICE.
I get that but Trump needed to try to sway McConnell to his side as much as possible. McConnell swore he was going to be a one-term president -- so Trump endorsed him to get votes, to get some cooperation from him, heck he even made his wife Secy of Labor.
McConnell has a reputation of not allowing conservatives running to unseat his selected incumbents; incumbents that learned to nod to McConnell or he'd make their lives miserable.
It was all about the votes for Trump and some cooperation to get 'McConnell's team of idiots' to vote for what the GOP needed.
He'll be stepping down, but not soon enough.