Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Ronna McDaniel, has suggested in her interview on AM 970's show "The Cats Roundtable" that former President Donald Trump continues to lead the party even now after his electoral defeat in 2020. She justified ascribing this status to Trump by underscoring the fact that he remains the biggest fundraising personality in the party.
"You know I always say, go back to the voter, and I think when you see the amount of people that show up to the rallies for President Trump, and this $102 million fundraising haul, I think the voters in America — Republicans in America — would absolutely say the president's the most popular Republican and still leads the party", McDaniel said.
McDaniel's statement comes after she in January 2021 vowed that the RNC would remain neutral when it comes to 2024 nominees for the presidential post. Trump himself has not confirmed whether he will be running for president in 2024, only hinting at such a possibility.
But when it comes to supporting Republican candidates in the 2022 midterms, Trump and his political action committees (PAC) have a lot to offer. In the last six months, his PACs have hauled in $82 million, making Trump the biggest fundraiser among ex-US presidents. Under US law, however, political action committees like the Save America leadership PAC, which raised $62 out of the $82 million, can't spend money on Trump's campaign, but they can financially support other GOP candidates whom the ex-POTUS chooses to back.
Trump expressed willingness to endorse Republican candidates to help them win the House in 2022, as well as support those Republicans who seek to unseat incumbent GOP lawmakers whom the ex-president calls RINOs and dislikes. Among them are Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach him in the House or to convict him in the subsequent Senate trials. Trump also warned Republicans that he will likely not be able to endorse those members of the party who back the passage of Biden's infrastructure bills. One such bill, costing $1 billion, advanced in the Senate on 7 August with the backing of several GOP senators, thus coming close to a decisive vote.