Mentorship is key to unlocking leadership for the next generation, Pennsylvania Sen. David McCormick (R-PA) said during an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday, walking through his new book Who Believed in You: How Purposeful Mentorship Changes the World.
McCormick began writing the book alongside his wife Dina Powell McCormick during the coronavirus pandemic, when children were isolated from their friends, teachers, and coaches. He said their daughters were very disconnected at that time, and it inspired McCormick and his wife to begin talking about the mentors in their lives that made all the difference.
“And in my case, it was a high school football coach, you know. I was kind of sitting on the bench as a sophomore in high school, and the coach got fired, and a new coach came in, and he watched all the films, and he saw something in me, and, you know, reached out to me, and I eventually got to be — he appointed me the captain of the football team,” he said.
“I went on to be an all-state football player. This guy — and that helped me get into West Point. This guy saw something nobody saw, including me,” he said, noting that his wife had a similar story.
“So we started to talk to some of our friends about it, people that have been very successful, people you know — Sarah Huckabee, Governor Sanders, Condi Rice and others. And the thing that came back was everybody had a key person … that changed their life,” he said, noting that the book itself is not about the famous individuals they interviewed but “the people you’ve never heard of who made them who they are.”
“And we think mentoring is the key to unlocking the kind of leadership we need for the next generation,” he said, explaining that there are key things that good mentors have in common.
“One is you’ve got to have mutual trust. You’ve got to be able to be vulnerable with a person. You’ve got to have someone who shares your values. It’s not just about transactional stuff, helping people get a promotion. It’s about helping them find a life of purpose. You know, we believe, you and I, that, you know, sort of God has a purpose for each of our lives,” he said, explaining that “this is about helping someone find that purpose.”
“Someone who’s committed to you, and someone who can help you have the confidence to overcome failure and take risks. And that’s the other common theme: We all fail. Matt, every one of us fails. I mean, I failed by, you know, earlier in business, I got fired as the CEO of a big company. You know, I failed with losing the first election,” the senator said.
“Through failure, you learn. And so everybody, every famous person, every successful person you know, has failed, but mentors help you overcome the failure, brush yourself off, get back and make a big difference,” he added.
He shared a story that Gov. Sanders told them, back from when she served as President Donald Trump’s press secretary in his first term.
She “tells the story about how she was just getting clobbered as the press secretary for President Trump, and she was thinking about leaving, quitting the job — just nasty, nasty treatment. And he [Trump] pulled her aside and said, ‘Listen, you’re doing great. You’re really very capable and talented. I believe in you. Keep at it. … Don’t let them get you down,’ and for her, that made all the difference,” he said.
LISTEN:
Breitbart · Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) – April 5, 2025Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
