Former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley recently said that she believes Donald Trump has begun to try and rig the GOP primary. On Tuesday, the South Carolinian suggested that Trump is trying to “take” the 2024 contest by promoting several people close to him, including his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, to powerful positions within the Republican National Committee.
The move rings similar to complaints on the Democratic side, where multiple candidates have complained about the way Joe Biden has worked to keep opponents out of the limelight and, in some cases, off of ballots entirely.
NBC News reports that Haley is not impressed with Trump’s choice.
“Now he has decided he has fired the RNC chair,” Haley said at an event Tuesday morning in her hometown of Bamberg, South Carolina, referring to Trump’s endorsement of a successor to Ronna McDaniel as chair of the Republican National Committee if she decides to step down in the coming days. “He’s named who’s going to be the new RNC chair. His daughter-in-law will be the co-chair, and he is making his campaign manager the officer that runs the party.”
“Think about what’s happening right now,” she continued. “Is that how you’re going to try and take an election?”
At a separate event later in the day, Haley said Trump is going to “try and continue to take the party so that it does what he wants it to do.”
Asked for comment Tuesday, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told NBC News, “Nikki ‘Braindead Birdbrain’ Haley reeks of desperation as it’s clear she knows she has no shot, and is now auditioning for a cable news contract when her 15 minutes are over. But not before she can squeeze every last dollar out of her Democrat benefactors.”
During an interview, Lara Trump appeared to make Haley’s point, telling Rob Schmitt that “every single penny will go to the number one and only job of the RNC, electing Donald Trump.”
Lara Trump: If I am elected to this position , I can assure you.. every single penny will go to the number one and the only job of the RNC… that is electing Donald J Trump pic.twitter.com/CAbbv2TMNN
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 14, 2024
Typically, the national party focuses on winning congressional seats, while a presidential campaign raises money for the president on its own.
Trump, naturally, has endorsed his daughter-in-law.
On Tuesday night, New Yorkers showed why the RNC needs new leadership. Republicans lost a special election to replace former Republican congressman George Santos.
The current Republican majority in the House of Representatives remains as slim as possible. With the loss, there are now 219 Republicans to 214 Democrats in the lower chamber.
[Read More: Donald Trump Picks Lara Trump For Important RNC Post]
