Influence on party grows
Trump’s daughter-in-law gets Republican leadership post
March 8, 2024, 8:11 p.m
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After Nikki Haley withdrew from the US Republican primary campaign, nothing stands in the way of Donald Trump running for president. The party has already filled two top positions with the ex-president’s preferred candidates – including his daughter-in-law.
Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, has taken on a key position in the leadership of the Republican Party. The majority of the Republican National Committee (RNC) voted for her and Michael Whatley as the new chair. Whatley is a close confidant of former President Trump and supported the 77-year-old, among other things, in the claim that his victory in the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him through massive fraud. With this election, Trump is further cementing his influence in the Republican Party.
Lara Trump is the wife of Donald Trump’s son Eric. During her inaugural speech in Houston, Texas, she declared that it was now about winning the upcoming presidential election and said: “It’s about good versus evil.”
The 41-year-old previously appeared as a political commentator on the right-wing US broadcaster Fox News, among others. In his speech, Whatley emphasized the goal of achieving Republican majorities in both chambers of the US Congress.
The previous RNC leader resigned under pressure from Trump
In November, all seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the seats in the Senate will also be re-elected. The Democrats currently have a slim majority in the Senate and the Republicans have a slim majority in the House of Representatives. After weeks of public pressure from Trump, the previous RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel resigned at the end of February. This would allow the future Republican presidential candidate to decide who should move to the top of the party, she said, explaining her decision. Trump had already recommended Whatley and his daughter-in-law for the position. It was expected that the party would follow suit.
The Republican National Organizing Committee is responsible, among other things, for coordinating campaign strategy, fundraising and hosting the nomination convention. The financing of the election campaign in particular is likely to be the focus of the work of the new NRC leadership.
After comparatively ineffective fundraising, the Republicans had less than $9 million at the end of January. For Biden’s Democrats it was $24 million, according to documents from both parties.