Not that such tensions are surprising. For much of the election, after all, one sensed that, if Trump could toss any politician into a pit full of honey badgers, it would be Ryan—and vice versa. “I don’t think they’re ever going to like one another very much, because they’re just such different people,” a veteran House Republican told me. In part because of this, Ryan was forever being asked about his opinion of (and support for) the oh-so-colorful Trump.

But McConnell: No one much seems to care what the inscrutable Senate leader thinks of Trump deep down, including Trump himself. And so McConnell cruises along, doing his thing, somehow maintaining a safe distance from Trump—now and again even brushing him back—without making the president feel aggrieved enough to have a Twitt-fit.

So how does Mitch do what he does?

Most obviously, McConnell kept his personal views on Trump to himself during last year’s race.

“McConnell is a political genius, and he read Trump right from the get-go,” one Republican House staffer told me. “He never wades into the political back and forth or comments on the Trump controversies. You’ll recall he completely stayed out of the Access Hollywood ordeal, when Ryan led a conference call denouncing it. McConnell’s managed to stay above the fray in the Trump era by simply navigating the political landmines more wisely and remaining silent in times of controversy.”

Such restraint is seen as very much in keeping with McConnell’s personality. “He keeps everybody at distance,” said the House member. “Nobody sees his cards but him.”

“He is incredibly calculating and cold-blooded,” added the member. So even though McConnell, like Ryan, never expected Trump to win, “he also never said anything that in any way undercut him.”

And, in the end, McConnell even came to appreciate Trump as the guy who helped save the Senate. “Where he won, we won,” said the House member. “So I think McConnell looks on the president as somebody that helped him retain his majority leader’s post.”

By contrast, Ryan at times seems compelled to poke Trump in the eye on principle. “Paul made two critical mistakes early on,” that really “soured the personal relationship” with Trump, said the House Republican.

“The first one was being slow to embrace the nominee, saying ‘I’m not quite there yet,’” said the member. The second: When the Access Hollywood tapes came out, Ryan told his conference that he wasn’t sure he could defend Trump. “You don’t have to defend him,” said the member. “But you don’t have to broadcast that to all of your membership, some of who were going to be upset.”

This is not to suggest McConnell is afraid to butt heads with the president—particularly when Trump encroaches on McConnell’s turf. “McConnell is a man of the Senate,” said Larry Sabato, head of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “He won't hesitate to exercise the Senate's prerogatives to check and balance Trump where needed.”