Lara Trump talks RNC strategy
‘Every penny’ should go to her father-in-law’s presidential bid
Lara Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, said that she would direct every cent raised by the Republican National Committee to his White House comeback bid and winning majorities in Congress if she helped lead the organization.
“We need to make sure that every penny of every dollar donated to the RNC is going to Donald Trump’s campaign, to making sure that we expand our lead in the House with America First patriots who love this country, that we take back the Senate on Nov. 5th of this year,” she said in a speech in Beaufort, South Carolina, on Wednesday.
Donald Trump earlier this month said he wants to replace current RNC Chair Ronna Mcdaniel with North Carolina Republican Committee Chair Michael Whatley as chair and Lara Trump, who is married to the former president’s son Eric, as cochair. Bringing in close allies to run the national party would give the former president greater control over the organization, including over how it spends its money.
Mcdaniel is facing pressure to step down amid lackluster fundraising that lags well behind Democrats. Trump has said changes would happen after the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary.
Speculation over the future of the RNC leadership comes as Trump is drawing down on political action committee fees to fund his mounting legal troubles. Trump has approximately $19.6 million more he can easily tap to pay his legal bills. That will likely last him until mid-2024, but after that he will need to turn to donors or the RNC to cover his legal expenses.
Lara Trump deflected when asked if she would approve of using RNC funds to cover Trump’s legal costs, saying that she believes the bills have “already been covered at this point” by the crowd-funding platform Gofundme. “I actually don’t know where they stand on that. Obviously, I’m not officially with the RNC. So I’d have to get back to you,” she told reporters.
Responding to a question later Wednesday, however, she said paying for her father-inlaw’s legal bills “is a big interest” for Republican voters.
“They see the attacks against him. They feel like it’s an attack, not just on Donald Trump, but on this country,” she said.
A Trump-allied PAC paid more than $51 million to cover his legal bills in 2023 and another $2.9 million in January.
Lara Trump struck a different tone than her father-in-law on expanding options for voters beyond casting ballots in person on election day.
“The messaging is get out, vote early, bank your vote, and then encourage other people to go out and do the same all the way up to election day,” she said.