Donald Trump appears to be hellbent on shaping the future of the Republican Party one way or another, and that ethos is coming to a head early this week.
Trump, from his keynote address at CPAC, exerted his authority over the Republican Party as a whole while also hinting very nonchalantly about a run for the presidency again in 2024.
Now the RNC has found themselves on the wrong end of this equation.
The Republican National Committee is defending its right to use former President Donald Trump’s name in fundraising appeals after he demanded they put an end to the practice.
In a Monday letter to Trump attorney Alex Cannon, RNC chief counsel J. Justin Riemer said the committee “has every right to refer to public figures as it engages in core, First Amendment-protected political speech” and said “it will continue to do so in pursuit of these common goals.”
But he maintained that Trump had also “reaffirmed” to the chair of the RNC, Ronna McDaniel, over the weekend “that he approves of the RNC’s current use of his name in fundraising and other materials, including for our upcoming donor retreat event at Palm Beach at which we look forward to him participating.”
Trump was Furious.
Trump responded to the letter with a statement that put that agreement in doubt. “No more money for RINOS,” or Republican in name only, he stated. “They do nothing but hurt the Republican Party and our great voting base — they will never lead us to Greatness.” He instead again urged his supporters to send their contributions directly to his own Save America PAC by using his personal website, adding, “We will bring it all back stronger than ever before!”
Given just how much control Trump has had her the GOP thus far, the RNC might want to consider keeping this ‘L’ on their record.
