Campaign

Trump says he’ll decide ‘recommendations for RNC growth’ after South Carolina primary

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks after meeting with members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at their headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Former President Trump suggested Monday that he has recommendations for how the Republican National Committee (RNC) could grow, claiming he would share them following the upcoming South Carolina GOP primary.

While referring to RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel as “my friend,” Trump signaled her future as the party chair could be uncertain.

“Things are looking great in the Presidential Race of 2024 against Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social, adding later that “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.”

In an interview that aired Sunday on Fox News, Trump predicted there would be “changes” to McDaniel’s leadership of the committee.

When “Sunday Morning Futures” anchor Maria Bartiromo asked Trump how McDaniel was doing, he said, “I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me. I think she did OK initially in the RNC.”

“I would say, right now, there will probably be some changes made,” he added.

McDaniel has come under criticism in recent months for finances at the RNC and for her leadership, including last month when she said on Fox News that the Republican party should unite around Trump — who she said was the likely nominee earlier this month, before he gained enough delegates to be the presumptive nominee.

“I’m looking at the math and the path going forward, and I don’t see it for Nikki Haley,” she told Fox News’s Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum in late January. “I think she’s run a great campaign, but I do think there is a message that’s coming out from the voters, which is very clear.”

“We need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump, and we need to make sure we beat Joe Biden,” McDaniel said at the time.

Trump’s post Monday comes after meeting with McDaniel at Mar-a-Lago, Politico reported.

On Monday, Trump signaled confidence going into South Carolina, where he has strong support and where he will face the state’s former governor, Nikki Haley.


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In Nevada, the state GOP is holding dueling primary and caucuses, with Haley appearing in the state-run primary on Tuesday and Trump participating in the caucuses on Thursday.

“This has been a very exciting Primary Season. The Iowa Caucus was won in Record Fashion … and likewise New Hampshire, where I had the honor of getting more votes than anybody in the History of the New Hampshire Primary, Republican or Democrat,” the former president wrote Monday. “Hopefully, we will continue this string of Victories in Nevada, the Virgin Islands, and then, South Carolina.”

According to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s national polling average, Trump maintains a dominant lead of about 57 percentage points in primary polls, at 72.5 percent support, compared to 15.5 percent support for Haley.