
Former President Donald Trump reportedly wants the head of the North Carolina GOP to take the helm at the Republican National Convention (RNC) after reports that Chair Ronna McDaniel will resign emerged earlier this week.
Trump is weighing North Carolina Republican Party Chair Michael Whatley as McDaniel’s possible successor. The current RNC chair will likely resign following the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary. Sources close to Trump told Fox News that he supports Whatley because of his stance on the 2020 election. Whatley believes that Trump, not President Joe Biden, won that election.
Whatley has served in his current role since 2019 while also serving as an attorney for the national RNC.
Whatley has other experience in politics. He previously served as a federal law clerk as well as in the administration of former President George W. Bush. The North Carolina GOP chair also served as chief of staff for former Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Whatley aided the Trump-Pence campaign and Trump’s 2017 transition team.
Who Is Michael Whatley, The Potential Frontrunner To Replace Ronna McDaniel As RNC Chair?https://t.co/hO9Ooow6p5
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 7, 2024
Trump had originally praised McDaniel, endorsing her during the last contest for the RNC chair against his former attorney, Harmeet Dhillon.
“I think she did OK, initially, in the RNC. I would say right now, there’ll probably be some changes made,” Trump said.
The former president credited McDaniel’s work as a factor in his 2016 election victory in Michigan.
Trump said on social media that he will be “making a decision the day after the South Carolina Primary as to my recommendations for RNC Growth.”
McDaniel said that she was “still hard at work as RNC Chairwoman and building a machine that will elect Republicans up and down the ballot in November.”
“Day in and day out, we continue to hold Joe Biden and Democrats’ feet to the fire for their continued assaults on our freedoms and failures, on everything from the border crisis, Bidenomics and skyrocketing crime. Myself and my staff are refusing to be distracted by the outside noise and we remain committed to our mission – rumors to the contrary are simply not true,” McDaniel said.