The RNC to Stay ‘Neutral’ If Trump Runs in 2024

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel did not wish to actively encourage the president to run for the presidency in 2024 and has stated that the Republican Party would stay “neutral” in the next presidential primary.

Despite McDaniel’s leadership of the RNC over the past four years being heavily focused on the re-election of then-President Trump, she has recently stated in an interview with the Associated Press:

“The party has to stay neutral. I’m not telling anybody to run or not to run in 2024,”

This means that the Republican Party’s infrastructure would not favour any one candidate’s ambitions for the Presidency over any other candidate in the next presidential primary. 

This comes after recent polling, indicating that a large number of Republicans still support Trump. 81% of Republican voters stated that they held favourable views towards the former President, which is an increase from an all-time low of 76% in mid-January. It also appears that 30% of Republicans would support a “Patriot Party” if Trump were to establish one. 

The same poll suggested that 50% of Republican voters believed Trump should still play a “major role” in the Republican party, up 9 points after the Capitol protest. 

Despite clear support in the Republican party, the poll suggested that 55% of all voters supported a Senate conviction of Trump for his involvement in the events at the Capitol - 75% of Republican voters said they would disapprove of this. 

McDaniel also voiced her support for Trump to remain involved with the Republican Party: 

“What I really do want to see him do, though, is help us win back majorities in 2022.”

As Chair of the RNC, McDaniel has a difficult role moving into her next term. Apart from being tasked with gaining control of the House, in the next election, she also aims to reclaim last year’s losses of the Senate and the White House. McDaniel has a reputation as a loyal Trump supporter in a party in which ten House and five Senate Republicans have voted to proceed with a trial which could potentially ban Trump from holding public office ever again. 

She further said that she recognised the frustrations of Trump’s supporters, which still make up a large portion of the Republican party, with Republican officials who are unwilling to support the former President. She wishes the party to remain unified and stated that she did not want to see Republican officials attack other Republicans:

“If we’re fighting each other every day, and attacking each other, and brandishing party purism, we’re not going to accomplish what we need to win back the House and take back the Senate, and that’s my priority.”

She stated in an interview with Fox News that she was confident that Trump will not start a new party, which would potentially harm her goal of Republicans regaining political power in the US:  

"I’ve talked to the president [Trump]. I’ve talked to others around the president, who are talking to him every day. He’s not going to start a third party."