“Over the next eight months, the Republican National Committee will work hand-in-hand with the Trump presidential campaign.” With these words, the newly appointed co-president of the party, Michael Whatley, confirms the fact that Donald Trump’s objective has been achieved. Namely that of placing his followers at the top of the Republican National Committee (RNC), responsible for financing the presidential campaign.
This Friday, March 9, during a meeting of the RNC training authorities in Houston (Texas), the leader of the Republican Party in North Carolina, Michael Whatley, as well as Lara Trump, the wife of Eric, son of the former president, were unanimously elected at the head of the body. Additionally, Chris LaCivita, a former Marine and current Trump campaign manager, has become the National Committee’s top executive officer, in charge of its “day-to-day operations.”
A few days after withdrawing his candidacy, Wednesday March 6, thus making Donald Trump the only Republican candidate still in the running, Nikki Haley denounced the takeover of the National Committee by the former president. “He’s going to make the RNC its own slush fund,” she lamented this week.
The Republican Party, a “good partner”, according to Trump
This triple election should “tighten the grip of the presumptive candidate on the party apparatus before the presidential election”, anticipates the New York Times. This is far from a surprise. On the one hand, because there were no other candidates for these positions. On the other hand, Donald Trump had already expressed, as early as February, his intention to elect this trio of faithful. “The Republican Party must be a good partner for the presidential election and guarantee transparent elections,” the former President of the United States insisted in a press release.
It is also on this last point that Michael Whatley wanted to insist, following his election. “We will work tirelessly in every state to ensure that it is easy to vote and difficult to cheat,” he told 168 party delegates gathered in Houston. Michael Whatley thus reaffirms his support for the unfounded allegations of fraud launched by Donald Trump during the 2020 presidential election.
A deficit party
Lara Trump, who describes herself as her father-in-law’s “secret weapon”, for her part clarified that the RNC’s objective was a large victory on November 5, describing the issue of the vote as a fight between “good and evil”. However, the primary mission of the National Committee will be to replenish the coffers of a largely deficit party.
Recent campaign finance reports showed that the RNC’s resources were “historically low,” at $8.7 million (around 7.9 million euros), as reported by Washington Post. In comparison, the Democratic National Committee has 24 million dollars (21.9 million euros).
The party’s insufficient funds are notably attributed to the former chair of the RNC, Ronna McDaniel, niece of moderate Mitt Romney, in office since 2017. “Many Trump allies have criticized Ronna McDaniel […] for his lack of support for the former president, underlines the New York Times. They regretted his neutrality and his resistance to pressure when it came to canceling a series of debates in which Donald Trump refused to participate, during the primaries.
Pushed towards the exit, Ronna McDaniel nevertheless showed herself resilient following her resignation at the end of February: “Winning the White House is too important for me to do otherwise. President Trump deserves to have the team he wants, including within the RNC”, she affirmed, according to the Washington Post.