In the surest sign yet that failed former president Donald Trump is toxic to the party that has sworn undying allegiance to him, the Republican National Committee (RNC) is facing a major cash crunch and having to make major financial cutbacks less than a year from the 2024 election.
The Washington Post reports the RNC is hemorrhaging money and cannot manage to get donations from large or small donors.
The Republican National Committee disclosed that it had $9.1 million in cash on hand as of Oct. 30, the lowest amount for the RNC in any Federal Election Commission report since February 2015. That compares with about $20 million at the same point in the 2016 election cycle and about $61 million four years ago, when Trump was in the White House.
The Democratic National Committee reported having $17.7 million as of Oct. 30, almost twice as much as the Republican Party, with one year before the election.
Oscar Brock, a member of the Tennessee GOP, said he cannot understand why times are so lean for the RNC:
“We’re going through the same efforts we always go through to raise money: the same donor meetings, retreats, digital advertising, direct mail. But the return is much lower this year. If you know the answer, I’d love to know it. The staff has managed to tighten down on expenses to keep the party from going into the red.”
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tried to downplay the financial problems facing her party, suggesting all will be well once Republicans have a presidential nominee.
“I think there’s more donors just fully committed to their candidate right now, saying I am all in, and once the nominee is set, I’ll be there. That’s what I hear more than anything. And they’re really solidly in the camps of their candidate, which is normal. There’s nothing unusual about this, because they know that once their candidate gets in that we will merge and that we’ll be working together to win the White House.”
But not everyone in the GOP is as sanguine about the financial crisis facing the party, with some suggesting McDaniel is the problem.
“The RNC’s electoral record since 2017 speaks for itself,” said Virginia RNC member Patti Lyman, who opposed McDaniel when she was reelected to another term in January. “The damage from that chair election goes far beyond the drop in donations. Our base was demoralized.”
However, McDaniel appears to have the support of failed former president Donald Trump, who said just last month that she had “done a fantastic job” and calling her “a real good friend.”
But in private, Trump seems to be less than sold on McDaniel, according to the Post:
Donors sometimes complain to Trump about McDaniel, and Trump has been asking people what they think of her, which is often an ominous sign that someone is losing their standing with him, according to three people close to the former president, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal discussions.
If money is indeed the mother’s milk of political campaigns, the GOP is currently sucking hind teat, and that suggests their electoral prospects are less than rosy in 2024.
