Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump, confirmed that she and other new leaders at the RNC started their first day on the job with “a lot of restructuring of people.”
In an exclusive interview with The Epoch Times on March 12, Ms. Trump didn’t divulge the number of RNC employees who were laid off on March 11, when she and other leaders took the helm. She said the final number isn’t settled because “there are some people who will come back, and there are some who will not.”
But, she said, the new leaders’ immediate actions demonstrate that they “really are very serious” about the party’s paramount goal: helping former President Donald Trump and other Republicans win elections.
That means raising money, spending it wisely, engaging voters, and ensuring their votes count.
“It’s the dawn of a new day at the RNC,” Ms. Trump, wife of President Trump’s son Eric Trump, said. “I think it'll be a breath of fresh air for people to see a lot of the things we do.”
She and other top leaders—including new RNC Chairman Michael Whatley, who has headed North Carolina’s GOP—are playing hardball.
“We are not there to make friends; we are there to win,” Ms. Trump said. “If you are really focused on that goal, you do have to say no to people; you do have to have those hard conversations.”
That attitude represents a major shift. For years, the RNC operated like a “good ol' boys’ club” full of glad-handers, politicos have told The Epoch Times.
In response to that characterization, Ms. Trump said: “I think that is the sentiment that far too many people had about the RNC. And that’s why you saw my father-in-law call for a change in leadership there.”
The ascension of Ms. Trump and Mr. Whatley—along with longtime co-manager of the Trump campaign Chris LaCivita as RNC chief operations officer—cements President Trump’s position as the de facto leader of the GOP.
“This change in leadership signals a complete integration between the RNC and the Trump campaign,” said J. Matthew Wilson, political science professor at Southern Methodist University.
“Clearly, the MAGA [Make America Great Again] faction is now firmly in control of the Republican Party.”
Whether these changes benefit the party as a whole remains to be seen, but Ms. Trump expressed determination to work for the good of the entire Republican Party, not just her father-in-law.
“We are just getting started!” she said. She didn’t disclose the total contributions.
Past Versus Present
Ronna McDaniel, who had served as the RNC chairwoman since 2017 with the backing of President Trump, stepped down on March 8 amid long-simmering accusations of poor leadership, anemic fundraising, and a string of losses and missed opportunities—high on the list: Republicans’ failure to capture the Senate majority in November 2022.At the meeting, RNC member Cynthia Henry of Alaska told The Epoch Times that she believed people were feeling “real good about the change in leadership.” She thinks they are “grateful for the past leadership and inspired by the new leadership style.”
Yet some observers worry about the increasingly strong ties to President Trump, particularly because he is toting some heavy baggage: dozens of criminal charges and numerous civil cases, including one that resulted in a $355 million fine that he’s appealing. He and his supporters denounce the legal attacks as “lawfare” and “election interference.”
Democrats, meanwhile, are giddy over the opposing party’s upheaval, its nearly empty coffers, and the continuing legal perils that President Trump faces.
Still, many of the GOP faithful are expressing excitement over what they see as a metamorphosis. They envision the RNC emerging stronger and reinvigorated, following years of stagnation and foolhardy decision-making.
Ballot harvesting, which is legal in many states, allows people to deliver other voters’ absentee or mail-in ballots to election officials. Some fear this practice facilitates election fraud. Republicans have long frowned upon it; Democrats have taken advantage of it. “Whether or not they [Democrats] do it legally, that’s up for discussion,” Ms. Trump said.
In any case, Ms. Trump said it’s time for Republicans to start “attacking the game differently.”
Past Priorities Skewed
In an interview prior to Ms. McDaniel’s exit, Tyler Bowyer, a national RNC committeeman from Arizona, told The Epoch Times that change “couldn’t come soon enough.”He said Ms. McDaniel was “taking serious advantage of Trump’s name” to raise money, “which any smart chairperson would do,” but that she then sanctioned debates that “just gave fodder to attack Trump.”
The RNC could no longer tie its fundraising to President Trump’s name, for fear of showing favoritism to him while he faced other GOP challengers, Mr. Bowyer said, and that left him and other like-minded RNC members saying “we told you so.”
Mr. Bowyer said the former RNC leadership was not necessarily anti-Trump; he thinks they “had other interests at heart.” In his view, the old leadership team was preoccupied with appeasing entrenched Republican politicians.
They lacked “the intestinal fortitude to make the tough, tough calls,” or to set up the party infrastructure properly, Mr. Bowyer said.
For example, he said, the RNC leadership should have told Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that they weren’t going to let him target $10 million toward the reelection of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in a race that she was almost sure to win.
Instead, the money should have been diverted to bolster Republican candidates who were fighting to unseat Democrats, Mr. Bowyer said. Senate candidate for Georgia Herschel Walker stood a great chance of winning in 2022 if his efforts had been better funded, he said.
If a political party’s leader isn’t willing to make decisions based on smart strategy, rather than a desire to please people such as Mr. McConnell, “you’re going to lose,” Mr. Bowyer said.
‘Every Penny’ Spent to Win
A potential early test of the new RNC leadership surrounds whether the party should cover President Trump’s legal fees.Some of President Trump’s supporters say that’s only fair; they agree with his contention that he is being targeted for political purposes by Democrat President Joe Biden’s allies in state and federal courts.
Others bristle at the notion that such donations would go toward legal battles.
At the RNC meeting earlier this month, member Henry Barbour of Mississippi tried to introduce a motion forbidding such payments. But the motion failed to gain enough sponsors to be placed on the agenda.
Later, two RNC committee members declined to comment on the question of paying President Trump’s legal fees with party funds, and Mr. Barbour could not be reached for comment.
It appears there is currently no direct prohibition against the RNC paying legal expenses for the former president, who has won enough delegates to become the party’s presumptive nominee.
Ms. Trump told The Epoch Times that all uses of money would be carefully considered.
“I think one of our huge focuses is cutting the fat and ensuring that every penny of every dollar is spent wisely, and it is spent in ways that will help us win, and nothing else,” she said.
Mr. Wilson, the Southern Methodist University professor, said generating more money—and allocating it—is one of the biggest tasks that the new RNC leadership faces.
“The RNC has been significantly lagging the DNC [Democratic National Committee] in terms of fundraising, and there has been dissension within many state Republican parties,” Mr. Wilson said.
“In addition, the party has seen a series of electoral disappointments since 2018. The new leaders will need to reverse these trends and show that they can produce wins for Republican candidates up and down the ballot, not simply serve as a vehicle to advance Donald Trump’s personal interests.”
In her remarks to The Epoch Times, Ms. Trump said the new RNC seeks victories “not just at the top of the ticket for [President Trump],” although he is “incredibly important.”
“But,” she said, “we also want to focus on the really important down-ballot races.
“We want to expand our lead in the House; we want to take back the Senate.”
It’s ‘Donald Trump’s Show’
Aaron Dusso, professor of political science at Indiana University–Indianapolis, pointed out that Ms. Trump “has been a vocal presence for years” in her father-in-law’s campaign.“That will likely increase as she now has a formal position within the party. One would expect for her to be the front person, while Whatley works behind the scenes,” Mr. Dusso said.
“That is not to say that Whatley would be some kind of puppet master, though. Clearly, this is Donald Trump’s show, and both will answer to him.”
Mr. Dusso said Ms. Trump’s new role “solidifies Trump’s formal hold on the Republican Party.”
The evolution of the party to become more Trump-centric can be traced to his first presidential run beginning in 2015.
“Prior to the 2020 Republican National Convention, the party chose to simply re-adopt the 2016 platform rather than write a new one,” Mr. Dusso said.
“It was clear then, and even more so now, that the Republican Party is Trump’s party.”
