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While Republicans can probably collectively agree that the tenure of Ronna McDaniel has been a failure pretty much on every metric (also, we told you so), is there any compelling reason to think that Lara Trump would be any better at the job of Republican National Committee co-chair?
To put it bluntly, the RNC is broke. This is a presidential election year, and the Democrats are making bank off a senile old fool who was just called an “elderly man with a poor memory” who is now proving the point by refusing to take a cognitive test with his next physical. While the Republicans are… doing what, exactly? Apparently, paying Donald Trump’s legal bills. There is an argument that the RNC should be assisting Trump with his legal bills due to these politically motivated prosecutions, but does that logically lead to installing Lara Trump, his son Eric’s wife, as the RNC co-chair?
Now, winning the presidency back is an important goal, I’m not going to deny that – especially given the way Congress has completely abdicated their legislative role and just become a rubber stamp for omnibus spending packages. But the way to STOP that is to get control of Congress back, AND also have the Oval Office in your corner. Yes, the president is a major roadblock to bad policy and spending, especially with the power of the veto. But what good will that be, if the Democrats take back the majority in the House (and they are already on their way to doing so), and hold the Senate at the same time? And God forbid that they get a veto-proof majority in order to cram down their policies on a national level.
It’s fair to say that Donald Trump has a myriad of reasons for wanting to be president once again – both political and personal. But will putting his daughter-in-law in as co-chair of the RNC be the best way to achieve that goal, AND help win a Republican majority for Congress? Why would we want Trump’s other pick, Michael Whatley of North Carolina, who has been in the RNC leadership circle during this colossal failure as the RNC’s General Counsel? And when you look at how Donald Trump is picking and choosing who he wants for the RNC, why does this just look like an extension of his campaign? Because, as always with Donald Trump, it is only ever about personal loyalty to HIM.
Trump’s endorsement of Whatley formally cements his push to see a change atop the committee after weeks of reports that he had grown frustrated with McDaniel.
In addition to the Whatley nod, Trump will also support Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, to serve as the RNC’s co-chairwoman. Lara Trump has long been an on-air surrogate for the ex-president, and during the 2022 campaign was briefly mentioned as a possible North Carolina Senate candidate.
The endorsement does not mean that either Whatley or Lara Trump will automatically be given those posts. The committee must hold a vote among its members should McDaniel step down, as she is expected to shortly after the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24. But that will likely be a formality, as the party members are almost certain to support the preferences of the candidate set to the presidential nominee.
As part of his effort to restructure the RNC, Trump will also tap Chris LaCivita to serve as RNC chief operating officer, according to the GOP operative, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. LaCivita will also maintain his role as co-campaign manager of the Trump campaign. The staff changes will be effective once a new chair takes office.
Trump’s pick of Whatley was made, in part, because of the North Carolinians’ focus on one of the former president’s pet causes: baseless allegations of election fraud. Whatley has argued that elections are prone to fraud. He has also defended Trump over his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol siege, stressing that it was the rioters — not the then president — who were to blame.
Donald Trump benefits from having Lara Trump and Michael Whatley run the RNC, as they are both personally loyal to him. He benefits from putting his own co-campaign manager in as chief operating officer. And Lara Trump is not shy about openly saying what her entire goal would be as RNC co-chair.
Lara Trump doubled down on her support for her father-in-law, former President Trump, vowing Tuesday to spend “every single penny” of Republican National Committee (RNC) funds to reelect him to the White House.
Asked by Newsmax host Rob Schmitt what needs to change to make the RNC more competitive, Lara Trump said Tuesday: “The RNC needs to be the leanest, most lethal political fighting machine we’ve ever seen in American history.”
“That is the goal over the next nine-and-a-half months. If I am elected to this position, I can assure you, there will not be any more $70,000 — or whatever exorbitant amount of money it was — spent on flowers,” she continued. “Every single penny will go to the No. 1 and the only job of the RNC — that is elected Donald J. Trump as president of the United States and saving this country.”
I don’t think anyone disagrees with Lara Trump about the spending on extraneous perks at the RNC on dinners and flowers and transportation and whatnot, which has been incredibly stupid and short-sighted – and big kudos to Jennifer Van Laar from RedState for tracking and exposing that spending. And Lara Trump has been heavily involved in the Trump campaign as a surrogate and a fundraiser for years now. But to say that the “only job of the RNC” is to elect a presidential candidate? That is incredibly short-sighted in a different way. Every state Republican party trying to pick and elect candidates to go to Congress, to work with said president, is also looking for financial help. We do not elect a king every four years to do just as he or she pleases. This is SUPPOSED to be a republic, which means co-equal branches of government, with two of those branches directly elected by their constituents.
I could appreciate Lara Trump saying that the primary goal is electing Donald Trump – hyperbolic, but understandable. Saying that it is the ONLY goal? Hard pass. The co-chairs of the RNC have two jobs. First, convince donors – both big ones and small ones – that the candidates running under the Republican banner are worth supporting because THEY CAN WIN. The second goal is to spend the money acquired during the first goal to get out the vote and win every single election possible, from president to senator to representative to local dogcatcher. The RNC is not Donald Trump’s legal defense slush fund. The entire goal is to win elections. Trump really should have his own legal defense fund separate from RNC fundraising – or is he concerned that no one would actually donate to such a fund? I really think people would. But people who choose to donate to the RNC should be assured that their money is going to ELECTIONS, not legal bills.
The special election last night in New York to replace George Santos should be a slap across the face for Republicans for multiple reasons. First, Santos should have been vetted by state and national GOP before he got a dime of campaign support. Second, his expulsion before a conviction set a bad precedent, and one Democrats might not like later if it is used against them. Third, the RNC and the state Republican party apparently failed to push early voting in the special election – which ended up being HUGE as a snowstorm came through right on Election Day.
This is why Republicans need to learn why it’s important to vote early.
We’re probably going to lose a House seat because Democrats vote early and Republicans are married to this idea that they have to wait till there’s a snow storm.
Bank your vote and vote early. https://t.co/ogMfGMRW3v
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) February 13, 2024
As a result, Tom Suozzi won the race, though it’s not nearly the “bellweather” moment that Democrats want it to be (Santos’s win was the exception, not the rule). Regardless, Donald Trump is angry about it today – mostly because the Republican candidate didn’t come to kiss his ring.
Trump in a Truth Social post branded the Republican candidate in the special election in New York’s 3rd Congressional District a “very foolish woman,” chiding her for distancing herself from the former president.
“Republicans just don’t learn, but maybe she was still a Democrat?” Trump wrote. “I have an almost 99% Endorsement Success Rate in Primaries, and a very good number in the General Elections, as well, but just watched this very foolish woman, Mazi Melesa Pilip, running in a race where she didn’t endorse me and tried to ‘straddle the fence,’ when she would have easily WON if she understood anything about MODERN DAY politics in America.”
Yes, Trump does have a high success rate in primaries. Let’s not talk about how that worked out in 2022, shall we?
with a completely straight face https://t.co/M2jfNZb4yH
— Matt Wilstein (@mattwilstein) November 8, 2022
And now we are back to the problem. Do you really think Lara Trump is going to buck her own father-in-law when he handpicks a candidate that can’t win, but sucks up to Donald Trump enough to get an endorsement? Highly unlikely – which means that the RNC just turns into a controlled satellite of the Trump campaign, working for the whims of the candidate instead for the goals of the party.
If Lara Trump wants to make sure Donald Trump wins, then she should be chairing his campaign, not the RNC. Nepotism is bad when the Democrats do it, and it’s bad when Republicans do it. Are we really going to have to learn that the hard way, again?
Featured image: Lara Trump in 2021, via Gage Skidmore on Flickr, cropped, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED)
John Shepherd says: Ronna Romney McDaniel is another one of Donald Trump’s failed personnel decisions. If McDaniel is to blame for 2022 then that is another Trump electoral failure. And who did he back for re-election as RNC Chair on 2023? Why none other than Ronna ROMNEY McDaniel.
Oh, yes, he should have shut up and let the DIRCs put her back in the cat seat under their own power.
It is maybe proof that he does learn, if only slowly. The GOOD thing is that it gave several other ignoramuses (that aren’t solidly in the Romney-McCain cabal) a harsh lesson.
John Shepherd says: Are you stupid? He put her there in the first place because she delivered Michigan in 2016 and then he put her back in the Chair in 2023. What part of McDaniel being a Trump pick don’t you get?
Well, not stupid enough to fail to recognize a Leftist troll when it crawls out from under its rock.
Stick around, though, please! That your masters send you off to even such a small blog as this reassures me that they’re running scared, terrified that even their fraud machine won’t work again.
John Shepherd says: Let me translate your reply into plain English for you: “I didn’t know that McDaniel was a Trump pick so I went on an emotional rant.”
Yes, I am leftist troll in the same way Chip Roy is a RINO.
Ah, another sign of the Leftist* troll – projection. In this case, an inability to conceive that an opponent has anything but blind absolute obedience to The Leader.
If you just take a look back through the archives, you will see that most of the Victory Girls talked about Trump pushing for McDaniel as RNC Chair – and the rest of us remarking about YET ANOTHER poor people choice.
(* Note – this is also a sign of the Rightist troll – but it is very hard to find them on the ground these days in order to observe the behavior.)
John Shepherd says: But you do demonstrate that you have absolute allegiance to the leader because if you dudn’t you would not be supporting Trump given his consistently poor personal choices.
“You put your faith in a Prince, in the son of man; in whom there is false hope, he leaves office and his policies are brought to nil.”
Reagan led movement. Trump is the movement and it dies with him. You will stand with the last man standing even it is a communust dictator.
I have no doubt that you will continue to work to ensure the continuation of the Junta – Mayorkas, Wray, Yellen, Garland, Austin, Milley, and the rest of the Central Committee.
Until the time comes when their goons bust in your door to “escort” you to the camp. All the time screaming that “But I helped to stop Trump! That was the most important thing!”
Okay, I’m done with you here. I’m about the only one who still fed your tiny little ego. No more.
Sigh… SOME of the points here are good – but others exhibit a fundamental misunderstanding of how things work.
1) The NRCC (National Republican CONGRESSIONAL Committee) funds HOUSE candidates; the NRSC (National Republican SENATORIAL Committee) funds SENATE candidates – they are separate from the RNC (Republican NATIONAL Committee). They are both doing quite well, actually, after a drop for the NRCC when McCarthy took his marbles and went home (the PAC controlled by him was a major funder). Fundraising for each is higher than for the RNC – and neither one has outstanding debt. The RGA (Republican GOVERNORS Association) also plays a funding role in the States – but not a major one; State candidates for any office mostly depend on their State committees for funds and activities.
2) Now, the drinkers of the “Fairest Election EVAH!” Kool-Aid will disagree – but someone who is laser focused on fighting the Democrat fraud machine is EXACTLY what is needed at the head of the national party. Along with someone that will be watching for the DIRCs who hug the Presidential candidate with a knife in their hands. It is hard to trust ANYONE but family for that these days! (Sometimes not even them…)
3) The candidate for POTUS, as part of his or her campaign appearances ALSO attends fundraisers and campaign events for Congressional, Senate, Governor, and some local candidates (or, at least, even if the focus is on the Presidential race, the others get their time on the stage). This is especially valuable when the candidate can go wherever support for the whole ticket needs shoring up – instead of the primary States that are still up in the air. (Yes, “I’m not loyal to ANYONE Haley” is only helping the Democrats with her Dona Quixote clown show.) (Okay, doesn’t apply to the elderly crook with a poor memory, but that is an exception that proves the general rule.)
4) Paying legal bills to combat the lawfare, at least in my view, is the same as running counter-advertising to combat Democrat lies. Allowing the Democrats to get even ONE false conviction with their Federally funded propaganda campaign will be detrimental to the WHOLE party – not just one man named “Trump.”
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[…] Lara Trump As RNC Co-Chair? Who Benefits? While Republicans can probably collectively agree that the tenure of Ronna McDaniel has been a failure pretty much on every metric (also, we told you so), is there any compelling reason to think that Lara Trump would be any better at the job of Republican National Committee co-chair? […]
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