Several senior Republican officials are concerned that Donald Trump’s expected takeover of the RNC will ultimately pave the way for the committee to once again cover his legal bills.
Those fears come in the aftermath of Trump endorsing a trio of officials, including his daughter-in-law, to take on top roles at the RNC. While those endorsements have been well-received by many committee members — who note that it is customary for a presidential candidate to put his imprint on the party’s main campaign apparatus — others fear a potential misallocation of party resources.
Henry Barbour, a Mississippi committeeman, said he believed “most RNC members will go along” with Trump’s vision for the committee, “unless there is a play to use RNC funds for President Trump’s legal bills.”
Yes, except he isn’t the nominee yet. Imagine a world where Trump is convicted quickly and Republicans decide he’s unelectable and Nikki Haley pulls out the win…and then Trump’s daughter in law pays Trump’s legal bills anyway.
You don’t have to wait until all the states have had their primaries but it seems prudent to wait until a candidate has a majority of delegates. Even just wait until Super Tuesday in 3 weeks after which 40% of delegates will be assigned.
You say it’s imagination; I say it’s the actual most likely outcome if Trump falls off the GOP ticket, regardless of how it happens.
And I’d go a step farther and assert that this is the real reason Trump is laying personal claim to the RNC now and putting a family member in, much like Napoleon putting relatives on all the European thrones he could.
To Trump’s solipsistic brain, he IS the RNC, the Republican party, and still the president, so why is there a pot of money that he does not yet control?
But it’s not just the money, although the money is certainly the most important thing. Remember that caucuses and conventions are not dictated by the Constitution, only the Electoral College and the actual counting of the presidential votes are. The rest is up to the states and to the individual parties, and they rely far more on tradition and handshake agreements as opposed to actual law.
Thus, if Trump controls the RNC, I’m not entirely sure there’s a mechanism to prevent him from simply naming himself the Republican candidate, even if he’s in jail or off the ballot or Nikki Haley gets more votes.
Also, once the RNC is his to run, what compels him to even continue the Republican primary schedule?