Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel revealed the possibility of a Trump ‘ultimatum’ in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday. Watch:
“I think they're all going to sign it.”
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel says she expects that Trump will sign a pledge to support the Republican nominee even if it's not him. pic.twitter.com/bKwDDLSF0u
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“As I mentioned, your party announced that the first Republican debate will be in August in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” Bash said. “Will candidates be required to sign a pledge saying that they will support whomever becomes a nominee in order to get on that debate stage?”
“We haven’t put the criteria out, but I expect a pledge will be part of it,” McDaniel replied. “It was part of 2016. I think it’s kind of a no-brainer, right?”
“If you’re going to be on the Republican National Committee debate stage asking voters to support you, you should say, I’m going to support the voters and who they choose as the nominee as RNC Chair,” she continued. “If I said I wouldn’t support the Republican nominee, I would be removed from office. I would. I’d be rightly removed, part of our bylaws, and I would be kicked out as RNC Chair. Anybody getting on the Republican National Committee debate stage should be able to say, ‘I will support the will of the voters and the eventual nominee of our party’.”
“I want you to listen to what former president Donald Trump said a couple of weeks ago in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, on this very topic,” Bash said before playing a clip of Trump.
“If you’re not the nominee, will you support whoever the GOP nominee is?” Hewitt asked.
“It would depend,” Trump responded. “I would, I would give you the same answer I gave in 2016 during the debate” It would have to depend on who the nominee was.”
“So are you prepared to block the former president?” Bash asked McDaniel.
“He signed it in 2016. I know he did,” Ronna objected.
“But this is about the here and the now,” Bash pressed. “He didn’t commit to it.”
“I think they’re all going to sign it,” McDaniel replied. “I really do. I think the voters are very intent on winning and they do not want to see a debate stage of people saying, ‘I’m not going to support this guy. I’m not going to support this guy.’ What they need to say is, I’m going to do everything I can to defeat Joe Biden. And that means supporting the nominee of the Republican Party.”
“You can’t see a scenario where Donald Trump would just skip the debate if he’s forced to sign something saying to support others?” Bash asked.
“I think he will also want to be on the debate stage,” McDaniel said. “I think President Trump would like to be on the debate stage. That’s what he likes to do, and I expect they’ll all be there.”
McDaniel’s remarks drew some very interesting reaction on Twitter.
“How about she signs a pledge saying if she doesn’t support MAGA she will resign,” Truth Ninja retorted.
“Reminder… do not give [any] money to RNC,” JCHICKY replied.
“We, the people, will walk away,” Tommy said. “Have fun winning elections without voters.”
“We don’t want candidates supporting simply because of the party,” Alex Shepard added. “We don’t want party loyalty or party control, we want support to the Constitution, loyalty to the American people, governance by the people, as intended.”
This is the thing the RNC doesn’t understand: Americans don’t support the Republican Party as an end in itself. They support it to try to get things done to benefit the American people. This means holding government officials fully accountable for their actions and ending the corruption and dysfunction in Washington.
The only Republican president in recent memory to actually deliver on his promises, put in place policies to build an economy that benefited all Americans, pulled funding from corruption institutions like the World Health Organization, and kept the nation out of foreign wars, was Donald J. Trump.
That resonates far more with voters than hollow pledges to blindly support the Republican Party’s nominee no matter who it is.
Follow Kyle Becker on Twitter @kylenabecker.