The Republican National Committee (RNC) revealed it will stop paying legal bills for Donald Trump if he announces his presidential run for the 2024 election.
Republican strategists claim the RNC is disproportionately supporting Trump, which is a worrisome indicator for other potential presidential candidates of the Republican Party.
RNC Warned Trump About 2024 Presidential Ambitions
An anonymous official of the RNC told ABC News the committee has to maintain its “neutrality policy” for all presidential candidates.
So, it can no longer pay Trump’s bills if he decides to run for the White House again, the official added.
The RNC has been consistently paying Trump’s legal fees for a long time. In November last year, the committee paid over $121,000 for the Trump Organization’s legal case in New York.
Likewise, the RNC paid nearly $1.6 million to fight the Trump Organization’s financial case in New York in December, which accused Trump of evading taxes.
Reportedly, the committee paid at least $2 million for Trump’s legal cases until now.
“According to the RNC's most recent financial disclosure to the Federal Elections Commission, from October 2021 through June of this year, the RNC paid at least $1.73 million to three law firms representing Trump,”https://t.co/eEPqoV9mXL
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 28, 2022
However, this is not the first time the RNC is using legal bills as leverage over Trump.
Jonathan Karl, a senior official of ABC News, wrote a book, “Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show,” in which he noted Trump was threatening RNC chair Ronna McDaniel to create his own party by leaving the GOP.
On this, McDaniel told Trump the RNC would no longer be able to pay for his legal battles, which prompted him not to announce his own party.
The RNC previously defended its support for Trump. This January, RNC spokesperson Emma Vaughn noted defending Trump is “critical to the GOP.”
Speaking to ABC News, Republican donor Dan Eberhart stated maintaining a healthy, mutual relationship is a win-win situation for both RNC and Trump.
This is due to the fact the RNC needs Trump’s support to raise funding from pro-Trump people, while the former president needs RNC’s bank accounts to pay his legal fees.
RNC warns it will stop paying Trump’s legal bills if he announces 2024 bid too soon. @jonkarl reports. https://t.co/BJPFReJTlB pic.twitter.com/jfyNKB4uqX
— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 28, 2022
Trump Helped RNC for Massive Fundraising
The RNC raised a staggering amount of money using Trump’s name in its email campaign, as it sold the so-called “Trump Life Membership” to the voters.
Though this unwavering support of the RNC towards Trump is putting other potential Republican candidates at an “absolute disadvantage,” Eberhart added.
While the RNC is claiming to maintain its so-called neutrality policy by not supporting any candidate, different Republican lawmakers are worried Trump’s 2024 announcement will reduce their chances of winning the midterm elections.
Last July, a GOP strategist told Insider that Trump could create a “complete mess” by announcing his run for the top office.
Furthermore, Republican Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland suggested many GOP governors are worried about Trump announcing his reelection bid before the 2022 midterms.
This can be detrimental to the reelection of many GOP governors.
This article appeared in TheDailyBeat and has been published here with permission.
