Trump to Make Decision About RNC Recommendation Day After South Carolina Primary

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald J. Trump leaves after speaking at a rally in Manchester, N.H., on Jan. 20, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Former President Donald Trump confirmed plans to weigh in on leadership for the embattled Republican National Committee (RNC) one day after the upcoming South Carolina Republican primary in a post on Monday, after he'd made comments about a change in leadership with Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.

President Trump had begun the year juggling close-set election and court dates in January while maintaining a large lead in the polls. This month includes primaries in Nevada, Michigan, and South Carolina, but President Trump and others, including RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, have opined that the primaries are effectively over.

“Things are looking great in the Presidential Race of 2024 against Crooked Joe Biden. We have Leads, in many cases substantial, in virtually every Head-to-Head Poll,” the former president wrote on Truth Social. “The Primary seems to be over, but I’ll be going to South Carolina next week to finish off a very unpopular Candidate.”

He shared plans to travel to Nevada and Michigan, and reiterated that Ms. McDaniel’s support had helped gain him Michigan during his first run.

“In my successful run in 2016, the State of Michigan really came through - First time in Decades that it was won by a Republican, and it was headed up by my friend Ronna McDaniel,” he wrote. “Ronna is now Head of the RNC, and I’ll be making a decision the day after the South Carolina Primary as to my recommendations for RNC Growth.”

Ms. McDaniel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On the “Sunday Morning Futures” interview, President Trump said there would “probably” be changes to RNC leadership, but prefaced his comments by saying he had nothing to do with the RNC.

The party recently announced its worst fundraising year in a decade, and a string of Republican losses last year, coupled with the poorly viewed GOP presidential debates, which President Trump didn’t attend, has made for much to criticize. Calls for Ms. McDaniel’s resignation intensified in November, after the third debate, and she responded by calling for unity in the party as the nation faces a general election year.

Ms. Bartiromo asked President Trump about the RNC’s lack of funds, saying it “doesn’t seem so strong,” especially compared to what the Democrats are raising.

“I have a lot of money,” President Trump responded. “People are not looking at the RNC. They want changes. You have to understand, I have nothing to do with the RNC.”

Asked directly about Ms. McDaniel, President Trump mentioned her doing well with Michigan when he won the state in 2016.

“I think she did okay initially in the RNC,“ he said. ”I would say right now, there’ll probably be some changes made.”

In late January, the RNC had been poised to review a plan that would back President Trump as the “presumptive nominee” and focus resources on defeating President Joe Biden in the general election.

President Trump responded in a Truth Social post, writing in all capital letters, that “they should not go forward with this plan” for the “sake of party unity.”

The resolution was withdrawn shortly afterward.

Most of his rivals for the party nomination have since dropped out and endorsed him, leaving former U.N. ambassador Nikki Hayley as his sole primary challenger.

“Who cares what the RNC says? We'll let millions of Republican voters across the country decide who should be our party’s nominee, not a bunch of Washington insiders,” said Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas in a message released to The Epoch Times after the resolution was proposed.

On Feb. 24, Ms. Hayley and President Trump will face off in South Carolina, where Ms. Hayley used to be governor. Pollsters have predicted that her performance in her home state could determine whether her campaign can continue.