Tag: rnc
'Absolute Bloodbath' Roils RNC As Trump Seizes Control Amid Purge Of Party

'Absolute Bloodbath' Roils RNC As Trump Seizes Control Amid Purge Of Party

With Ronna Romney McDaniel gone, the Republican National Committee (RNC) now has the ultra-MAGA leadership that Donald Trump wanted — including Trump loyalist Michael Whatley replacing McDaniel as chair and Lara Trump as co-chair.

But the changes at the RNC go beyond Whatley (who formerly chaired the North Carolina Republican Party) and Lara Trump, who is married to Donald Trump's son, Eric Trump.

According to Politico's Alex Isenstadt and The Guardian's Hugo Lowell, mass firings are underway — a purge a GOP source described as an "absolute bloodbath."

Lowell, in an article published by The Guardian on March 11, reports, "Donald Trump's new leadership team at the Republican National Committee started the process of ousting scores of staffers on Monday night, clearing out its ranks as they prepare to bring the Committee under the wing of the Trump 2024 presidential campaign, sources familiar with the matter said.

"The RNC, according to Lowell, "is expected to cull about 60 people across the political, data and communications departments."

"At least five members of the senior staff will be let go," Lowell explains, "and some third-party contracts may also be cancelled…. In ousting large swathes of the RNC, the new chair, Michael Whatley, and the new co-chair, Lara Trump — the former president's daughter-in-law — moved to reorganize the Republican Party's central committee to fall squarely behind the Trump campaign just days after they were formally elected."

Lowell adds, "The RNC is being brought under the Trump campaign to such an extent, the sources said, that the firings are mainly to ensure there is no overlap in roles between the RNC and the campaign. The Trump campaign, for instance, already has robust political and communications teams."

Isenstadt, reporting for Politico, notes that "Trump advisers have described the RNC's structure as overly bloated and bureaucratic."

"The RNC had about $8 million at the end of December, only about one-third as much as the Democratic National Committee," Isenstadt reports. "Under the new structure, the Trump campaign is looking to merge its operations with the RNC. Key departments, such as communications, data and fundraising, will effectively be one and the same."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Will Lara Trump Turn GOP Into 'GoFundMe' For Trump Defense Costs?

Will Lara Trump Turn GOP Into 'GoFundMe' For Trump Defense Costs?

As discussions around Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel's ouster circulate among the party, former President Donald Trump has floated the idea of replacing the GOP leader with his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump — who's already starting to call the shots, according to a Thursday NBC News interview.

During the interview, Lara Trump insisted MAGA voters wouldn't mind if their donations helped to fund the former president's piling legal bills amid his ongoing criminal cases.

"It appears Lara Trump is already laying the groundwork for her family's next big grift," MSNBC's Deadline: White House guest host Alicia Menendez said, speaking with former Bush administration official Miles Taylor. "Last week on Newsmax she said all funds the organization raised would go straight to his re-election efforts. And those efforts could include his legal bills. The cash-low candidate, who just this year, has racked up financial penalties against him of over $400 million, is poised to spend 2024 trying to finance running for president, and staying out of prison for the 91 felony charges he currently faces."

Menendez asked Taylor whether he thinks Lara Trump is right in saying Republican donors are fine with funding Trump's legal bills.

"Here's the thing, Alicia. I would like to say the answer is no, and that most people will see through this and turn them off towards Donald Trump and this will mark the end of his reign over the GOP," the ex-Department of Homeland Security chief of staff said. "But I know better than that, and I actually think Lara Trump probably knows better than we do, which is that they've so fooled the GOP base that their future and the future of the country is tied to Donald Trump that they seem willing to do almost anything to support him.

Taylor continued, "I think we all remember a few years ago the RNC solicitation that went out to help buy Donald Trump a new airplane. I mean it's that level of absurdity that they're tapping into in terms of the cult mentality around Donald Trump. But there's a couple things here that are significant about it. If the GOP turns into a GoFundMe for Donald Trump, it's likely to bankrupt candidates that are further down the ticket, that will probably result in those candidates losing their elections and bigger losses for the GOP. The thing that worries me, though, is it will, of course, help enable Donald Trump to continue his quixotic odyssey to run America. And I think that's the big concern, is that slush fund — that piggy bank, will increase his odds of winning back the White House, which is the danger."

Watch the video below or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

GOP Resolution Would Shut Down Primary Contest To Anoint Trump As Nominee

GOP Resolution Would Shut Down Primary Contest To Anoint Trump As Nominee

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is now considering a draft resolution that would bring about a swift end to the 2024 Republican primary and cement former President Donald Trump's status as the de facto nominee.

According to a Thursday report in The Dispatch, the RNC resolution — proposed by Trump ally and Maryland RNC committeeman David Bossie — would be considered as soon as next week at the RNC's winter meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"RESOLVED that the Republican National Committee hereby declares President Trump as our presumptive 2024 nominee for the office of President of the United States and from this moment forward moves into full general election mode welcoming supporters of all candidates as valued members of Team Trump 2024," the resolution reads.

Under current RNC rules, Trump would have to win 1,215 pledged delegates from the various primaries and caucuses holding their contests this winter and spring in order to become the presumptive nominee ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this coming July. Currently, Trump leads in the delegate race with 32 pledged delegates to former UN ambassador Nikki Haley's 17.

However, the RNC is within its rights to change those rules. Should it do so, it would effectively nullify the results of all upcoming primaries and caucuses after just two nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. Haley's team pushed back against the resolution, and fired a shot across the bow at RNC chair Ronna McDaniel.

"Who cares what the RNC says?" Haley spokeswoman Olivia Perez Cubas told The Dispatch. "We’ll let millions of Republican voters across the country decide who should be our party’s nominee, not a bunch of Washington insiders. If Ronna McDaniel wants to be helpful she can organize a debate in South Carolina, unless she’s also worried that Trump can’t handle being on the stage for 90 minutes with Nikki Haley."

The next primary will be in Haley's home state of South Carolina in late February, which will also kick off the winner-take-all stage of the Republican primary, in which the candidate who wins a majority of votes will be awarded 100 percent of that state or territory's delegates.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Ronna McDaniel

Rove: RNC Chair 'In Trouble' Over 'Highly Inappropriate' Call With Trump

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel “is in trouble” after she was recorded on a phone call with former president Donald Trump pressuring two Michigan electors to change their votes certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to GOP strategist Karl Rove.

Speaking with Fox News’ John Roberts, Rove was asked about recent reporting from the Detroit News about “a recorded phone conversation between former President Donald Trump, the RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and two Wayne County Board of Election officials.”

Roberts notes the Detroit News reporters described a conversation “about certifying the 2020 presidential election,” in which Trump is quoted “as saying ‘We’ve got to fight for our country. We can’t let these people take our country away from us.'"

In the recording, McDaniel tells the election workers, “If you can go home tonight do not sign it, we will get you attorneys.”

“We will take care of that,” Trump adds, according to the Detroit News.

The election workers subsequently “tried to rescind their votes,” Roberts notes.

“I think the former president’s got a problem with this,” Rove said. “They had voted to certify the election, he attempted to force them to change their decision, which they tried to do. I think this is what we would call ‘election interference.’”

Rove noted that same behavior got Trump “into trouble in Georgia.”

“This is a problem, the former president should not have been doing this,” Rove said.

“This is not a good move if accurate and if this tape is true,” he added. “The former president’s created another problem for himself.”

Asked if it creates “a problem for Ronna McDaniel,” Rove said the RNC chair could be in hot water because of the leaked phone call.

“I think it is, I think the chairman is in trouble here,” Rove said, calling the conversation “highly inappropriate.”

Watch the videos below or a this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.