The RNC is Tump's latest grift victim
Part IV in a series "Why the GOP should be rooting for Trump to lose"
As soon as Ronna McDaniel exited as Chair of the Republican National Committee, Donald Tump installed Michael Whatley, a known election denier and Trump loyalist, and his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as co-chairs.
Then the drawing and quartering began1 followed by what has been framed in Orwellian parlance by Chris LaCivita, the RNC’s new director, as “restructuring.”2
The plan at the RNC is to redirect all its funds to Trump’s reelection campaign. After Trump takes off a slice, he’ll shift the remainder to his PAC, Save America. Trump’s PAC has an agreement with the RNC to shift a certain portion of its take to the RNC.
Since the RNC’s only priority is Trump’s reelection, it means lean pickings for down ballot races. Worse still, the RNC just fired 60 plus people whose job it was to ensure that Trump wasn’t stuck with dealing Democratic Party majorities in Congress.
Of course, if Trump wins; this brilliant grift will continue except that Trump’s PAC, which rarely donates money to campaigns, will take the RNC’s money up front.3 That situation will alter the political landscape. Think on the level of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Good for the Democrats, but body bags and homelessness for the the GOP.
Why? Without money, political parties are meaningless. If Trump continues his financial stranglehold on the RNC (and it’s a great grift, so likely he will); there won’t be money for the RNC’s campaign conduits, like the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). The NRCC finances congressional campaigns for the House of Representatives. There is a similar conduit for Senate races, gubernatorial races, state legislature races, and other races. Oh, they recruit and offer non-monetary assistance as well, but money is main ingredient.
GOP contributors could bypass the Trump grift and give directly to these conduits, but Trump might put his foot down on financing any candidate he perceives as disloyal to him.
And of course, wealthy GOP contributors could write dozens and dozens of checks, but what’s the point of being filthy rich if you can’t buy your tax cuts up front in a single transaction.
The grift is far easier to unwind, if Trump loses. The need for a big midterm to counter a Biden reelection is going to lead to a counter-putsch at RNC headquarters.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/11/bloodbath-at-rnc-trump-team-slashes-staff-at-committee-00146368
https://wapo.st/3TKIUXY
Trump’s presidential camapign fund will cease to exist as he cannot be elected presidemt a third time.