If there's one thing Donald Trump can't afford, it's a cash crunch at one of his biggest benefactors, the National Republican Committee.
On Sunday, Trump joined Fox News to blast RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel following the revelation that the GOP's flagship organization started 2024 with just $8 million in its coffers.
"You have to understand, I have nothing to do with the RNC, I'm separate," Trump told Fox host Maria Bartiromo, distancing himself from the RNC's worst financial showing in at least a decade.
But asked directly how McDaniel was doing, the man who supposedly has "nothing to do with" the organization indicated McDaniel's ouster was likely imminent.
"I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me, I think she did OK initially in the RNC," Trump responded. "I would say right now there will probably be some changes made.”
And there you have it: As subservient as McDaniel has been to Trump, the RNC's cash crunch is an irredeemable stumble.
Ronna Romney McDaniel, the niece of Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, famously dropped her maiden name in 2017 at Trump's request. In early 2022, McDaniel presided over the RNC's effort to normalize Trump's deadly Jan. 6 riot, declaring it "legitimate political discourse" in a statement at the outset of the midterm cycle. And most recently, McDaniel endorsed an effort to declare Trump winner of the 2024 Republican primary after just two contests.
"We need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump,” McDaniel told Fox as New Hampshire returns rolled in showing Trump would win the state.
But in Trumpworld cash is king, particularly as the Republican front-runner's legal woes mount. End-of-year financial filings revealed Trump super PACs spent more than $55 million combined on legal fees in 2023.
As Trump has increasingly sucked up donations from the universe of Republican donors, money has become a major source of tension with the RNC, which was helping to foot the bill for some of the lawsuits originating from Trump's tenure in office. But in late 2022, McDaniel announced the RNC would no longer be able to assist Trump once he makes his presidential bid official—an announcement that came just weeks later.
The scale of the RNC's cash crunch is notable. At this point in 2020, the organization boasted $72 million cash on hand.
Trump is simultaneously facing a tsunami of legal expenses that will continue to dominate his fundraising efforts. Not only was Trump ordered last week to pay columnist E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in a defamation lawsuit, a verdict is now imminent in a civil fraud case in which the New York State attorney general is seeking $370 million in damages.
Additionally, Trump still faces litigation in three more lawsuits related to Jan. 6, interference in Georgia's 2020 election, and his handling of highly sensitive federal documents.
"There's an avalanche about to hit him on the financial side," former Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci told MSNBC, estimating Trump’s legal fees could run anywhere in the range of $100 million to $150 million.
"I think there's a cataclysm coming in the second half of 2024," Scaramucci added.
Trump needs a RNC flush with cash, and McDaniel simply isn't delivering. That may very well be more of a Trump problem than a McDaniel problem, but Trump calls the shots on who gets thrown under the bus.
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On Sunday, Trump joined Fox News to blast RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel following the revelation that the GOP's flagship organization started 2024 with just $8 million in its coffers.
"You have to understand, I have nothing to do with the RNC, I'm separate," Trump told Fox host Maria Bartiromo, distancing himself from the RNC's worst financial showing in at least a decade.
But asked directly how McDaniel was doing, the man who supposedly has "nothing to do with" the organization indicated McDaniel's ouster was likely imminent.
"I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me, I think she did OK initially in the RNC," Trump responded. "I would say right now there will probably be some changes made.”
And there you have it: As subservient as McDaniel has been to Trump, the RNC's cash crunch is an irredeemable stumble.
Ronna Romney McDaniel, the niece of Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, famously dropped her maiden name in 2017 at Trump's request. In early 2022, McDaniel presided over the RNC's effort to normalize Trump's deadly Jan. 6 riot, declaring it "legitimate political discourse" in a statement at the outset of the midterm cycle. And most recently, McDaniel endorsed an effort to declare Trump winner of the 2024 Republican primary after just two contests.
"We need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump,” McDaniel told Fox as New Hampshire returns rolled in showing Trump would win the state.
But in Trumpworld cash is king, particularly as the Republican front-runner's legal woes mount. End-of-year financial filings revealed Trump super PACs spent more than $55 million combined on legal fees in 2023.
As Trump has increasingly sucked up donations from the universe of Republican donors, money has become a major source of tension with the RNC, which was helping to foot the bill for some of the lawsuits originating from Trump's tenure in office. But in late 2022, McDaniel announced the RNC would no longer be able to assist Trump once he makes his presidential bid official—an announcement that came just weeks later.
The scale of the RNC's cash crunch is notable. At this point in 2020, the organization boasted $72 million cash on hand.
Trump is simultaneously facing a tsunami of legal expenses that will continue to dominate his fundraising efforts. Not only was Trump ordered last week to pay columnist E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in a defamation lawsuit, a verdict is now imminent in a civil fraud case in which the New York State attorney general is seeking $370 million in damages.
Additionally, Trump still faces litigation in three more lawsuits related to Jan. 6, interference in Georgia's 2020 election, and his handling of highly sensitive federal documents.
"There's an avalanche about to hit him on the financial side," former Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci told MSNBC, estimating Trump’s legal fees could run anywhere in the range of $100 million to $150 million.
"I think there's a cataclysm coming in the second half of 2024," Scaramucci added.
Trump needs a RNC flush with cash, and McDaniel simply isn't delivering. That may very well be more of a Trump problem than a McDaniel problem, but Trump calls the shots on who gets thrown under the bus.
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