Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally MORE (R-Ky.) took an immediate victory lap on Wednesday after the Senate voted to acquit President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE on two House-passed articles of impeachment.

McConnell, speaking to a packed room of reporters, called impeachment a "political loser" and a "colossal political mistake" for Democrats.

"The president has his highest approval rating since he's been in office. I can tell you as a poll watcher ... every one of our people in tough races is in better shape today than they were before the impeachment trial started," McConnell said.

It's unclear what, if any, impact impeachment will have on voters in November, when the White House and both chambers of Congress will be up for grabs.

An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday found Americans evenly divided on whether Trump should be removed from office, with 46 percent saying he should be moved compared to 49 percent who said he should not.

But McConnell argued during his press conference that the takeaway from the months-long saga should be to not go down the impeachment path again unless there is bipartisan support. The votes against the impeachment articles were bipartisan in the House. Meanwhile, the votes for conviction on abuse of power were bipartisan in the Senate, though they fell short of the 67 votes needed. ADVERTISEMENT "I think this was a thoroughly political exercise from the beginning to the end," McConnell said.

With 67 votes needed to convict Trump, the outcome of the Senate's trial was all but guaranteed. But the trial wasn't without drama, including a weeks-long fight over whether to call new witnesses.

When a reporter followed up and noted he had avoided answering the questions, McConnell joked about whether he would be asked for a third time if the president's actions were appropriate.

"I think that's what we've just dealt with for three weeks," McConnell said. "We've listened. We've voted. We've had a number of internal meetings. ... It's time to move on. This decision has been made."

"The consequences of it in terms of the future are up to the voters of the country to decide who they want to lead the government," he added.