Ronna McDaniel Says Relationship Between RNC, Trump ‘Really Strong’

Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, at the CPAC convention in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 28, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

The relationship between the Republican National Committee (RNC) and former President Donald Trump is “really strong,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Tuesday.

Trump is battling with the RNC and two similar committees over fundraising, directing supporters to donate directly to his groups as he prepares to take on establishment Republicans who voted against him during the recent impeachment saga.

“I fully support the Republican Party and important GOP Committees, but I do not support RINOs and fools, and it is not their right to use my likeness or image to raise funds. So much money is being raised and completely wasted by people that do not have the GOP’s best interests in mind. If you donate to our Save America PAC at DonaldJTrump.com, you are helping the America First movement and doing it right,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.

McDaniel referenced the statement during an appearance on Newsmax.

“The president actually just put out a new statement within the past hour that said, ‘I support the Republican Party and GOP committees,’” she said. “And he’s doing an event for us in Palm Beach. He’s speaking. We’re looking forward to a great relationship.”

Turning to how Trump plans on supporting challengers to sitting Republicans such as Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), she said: “He’s, of course, going to support candidates in primaries. He’s made that very clear.”

“He’s going to get involved in primaries, and he’s going to have his separate PAC that does that. But he needs the party to be strong so we can get candidates across the finish line and actually win those majorities with voter registration and data and digital, and the things that RNC is doing right now,” she added later.

Then-President Donald Trump is introduced by RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting at the Washington Hilton in Washington on Feb. 1, 2018. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)

McDaniel, who was backed by Trump in her reelection bid last year, emphasized the importance of flipping the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“If we lose sight of what’s really important, which is winning back these majorities in 2022, we’re not only just letting down our country, we’re changing the future of America,” she said.

Separately, McDaniel and two other committee chairpersons on Tuesday issued a statement committing to working with Trump, calling his agenda “powerful.”

Trump appears to be working on cementing his position as the informal head of the GOP, shooting cease-and-desist letters to the RNC and the two other committees on March 5. The RNC responded by alleging it had “every right” to use Trump’s name and likeness in fundraising appeals, and it and the other committees have continued urging Trump supporters to donate to them.

Diverting funding from Republican committees could result in a crippling financial situation, Rich Baris, the director of Big Data Poll, told The Epoch Times.

“They will have to rely on larger donors that cannot give unlimited sums of money,” he said. “And that low-dollar base that drove Trump’s fundraising when he had a committee joint with the RNC … it’ll probably take some time, but most of them will get the message, and they’ll give to Trump’s PAC instead.”

Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.