By Conrad Hoyt. Media: Washingtonexaminer
Former President Donald Trump said there will “probably be some changes made” regarding the Republican National Committee and its chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel.
Speaking on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures, the Republican presidential front-runner maintained that he has “nothing to do” with the RNC. He then spoke candidly about McDaniel, his longtime ally and a woman for whom he helped secure her post in 2017 after she helped him win Michigan in the 2016 presidential election.
Host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump how he thought McDaniel was doing in her current role, to which he paused before answering: “I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me. I think she did OK, initially, in the RNC. I would say right now, there’ll probably be some changes made.”
The Sunday-released interview came just days after the RNC released its final Federal Election Commission filing for 2023, which marked its worst fundraising haul since 2013 and, adjusted for inflation, its poorest since 1993.
There have been reports of Trump’s dissatisfaction with McDaniel, largely stemming from Republicans’ underwhelming performances in the 2020, 2022, and 2023 elections. But Trump has also openly praised the RNC chairwoman, saying after her January 2023 reelection that it was a “big WIN.”
The lackluster fundraising numbers could be a big part of Trump’s shift in public tone, especially as Democrats headed into the new year with a record-high amount of cash and a financial advantage over its GOP counterpart.
The RNC did see improvement in its finances in the new year, raising nearly $12 million in January. The committee’s total for last month was larger than any single month of 2023.
A change in leadership would be a big shift so soon before the Republican National Convention in July. And although he has won the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, Trump still has not defeated Nikki Haley to become the GOP presidential nominee.