The RNC is promoting Trump and his business, raising fresh concerns about its neutrality
These are uncharted waters for the committee. And some in the party don’t think it’s charting them well so far.
The day former President Donald Trump announces a 2024 bid for president, the Republican National Committee will be in a bind. It may already be there.
Trump is the party’s biggest money maker and as an ex-president, his name and record are natural components for the committee to tout in emails and fundraising pleas.
But that’s come at a cost. The party and its leaders have committed to staying neutral in the upcoming presidential election. And as the RNC continues to tout Trump and even push his private business ventures through its official channels, the fear grows that it is dispensing with even the veneer of neutrality.
“How do you stay neutral when the single greatest driver of raising money is using Trump’s name?” asked one former party official, who remained anonymous to offer a candid perspective.
Having a former president in the mix for a future presidential run is uncharted territory for the RNC. In multiple interviews, Chair Ronna McDaniel has made clear she and the party plan to remain “neutral” during the primary season. In a sign of their commitment to not picking sides, the RNC passed a rule to bring back primary debates, giving candidates an equal advantage, and the presidential nominating process remains identical to 2016, among other things.
But behind the scenes there have been conversations at the upper ranks about the quagmire presented by a potential Trump run alongside concerns the committee is already too tied to the 45th president.
Trump’s name, smiling blonde head, quotes, and political record are all regularly featured in fundraising appeals from the RNC. His photo is often on the banner image of the emails the committee sends to its small donor lists. Trump’s social media venture, Truth Social, has been mentioned in close to 40 emails from the RNC campaign account this past year.
Fundraising emails have been sent out by other potential candidates and prominent party surrogates, like former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, but hardly with the same magnitude as those from Trump. The committee’s campaign email account has sent just one email under DeSantis’ name since 2021. So far, in July, it’s sent two from the name “Trump Social Media Alert.”
“I think Trump looks at the RNC as a wholly owned subsidiary and he should, they are nothing without him. He has all the base and all the money,” said a Republican operative close to Trump. “Neutral — how can they be neutral when he is not simply the main driver but the only driver?”
Perhaps the best example of the bind the RNC now finds itself in came on July 4, when the committee’s Twitter account published quotes from past Republican presidents. Included in that was a video of Trump. It was a natural clip for the RNC to share alongside patriotic messages from Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. But it also gave Trump a platform that other GOP presidential aspirants couldn’t get.
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- Discussion
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As the RNC continues to tout Trump and his business, some are concerned about the party's pledge to stay neutral in the 2024 presidential election.
“How do you stay neutral when the single greatest driver of raising money is using Trump’s name?" https://t.co/Qt0ANrqyIC
— POLITICO (@politico) July 11, 2022
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