Former President Donald Trump’s influence over voters, still thriving rally crowds, and his ability to raise money show he “still leads the party,” according to Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel.
“You know I always say, go back to the voter, and I think when you see the amount of people that show up to the rallies for President Trump, and this $102 million fundraising haul, I think the voters in America — Republicans in America — would absolutely say the president’s the most popular Republican and still leads the party,” McDaniel told Sunday’s “The Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770-N.Y.
McDaniel has vowed to “remain neutral” within the party if Trump were to run in 2024 and there were GOP presidential primary challengers.
“I’m not telling anybody to run or not to run in 2024,” McDaniel said in January. “That’s going to be up to those candidates going forward. What I really do want to see him [Trump] do, though, is help us win back majorities in 2022.”
Trump has vowed to do just that and McDaniel has picked up on many of Trump’s 2020 campaign warnings.
“Our country is at stake,” McDaniel told host John Catsimatidis. “It’s not just Democrat versus Republican. It’s Republicans versus communism. They want to take your freedom of speech away, your freedom of religion, our police. They are denigrating our country. They want to stack the Supreme Court, get rid of the filibuster. We won’t recognize America if we don’t win this next election.”
President Joe Biden has effectively done precisely what Trump had predicted and McDaniel called it a “catastrophe.”
“It’s pretty much been all ugly,” McDaniel said. “I think we can all agree. Look at our country right now. We’re in such bad shape.
“We had such a strong president, and now to have Biden do what he’s done with our borders so porous, with inflation going up, everyone is paying more. Your dollar is going less far than it used to. Gas prices are up. People can’t find people to work at their restaurants and their small businesses. It is a catastrophe.”