Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele delivered a scathing assessment of the Republican Party on Tuesday, arguing that the party cannot expect long-term growth under former President Donald Trump.
Willie Geist, co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” said in a conversation with Steele on Tuesday that even though Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley lost her home state to Trump by nearly 20 points. He noted that he received about 40% of South Carolina’s Republican primary vote last weekend. Some political analysts argue this indicates President Trump may struggle to maintain his lead in the November general election.
In response to Geist’s comments, Steele said: “Yes, in doing so we shatter ourselves as a national party, because the reality is… there is no real runway here to sustain the long-term growth prospects of the Republican Party.” Donald. Form a party with Trump as leader. ”
“that [the Republican Party] They have spent the past eight years systematically eliminating leaders who could win. “Candidates who had a chance of winning are losing in the primaries,” he added.
When it comes to Haley, Steele dismissed the 40 percent argument and questioned where the former South Carolina governor’s “base” lies.
“Here’s the deal. That 40 percent is not an actual number,” Steele said. “So when you have Democrats and independents voting in your primary or in the Republican primary, you have to say something to yourself: ‘Okay, where is my home base?’
“You know, of that 40 percent, 22 percent were independents and Democrats among them who actually voted in Nicki’s South Carolina primary. So she was ranked among Republicans in her home state. We lost states by a much larger number. So the question is, how do we incorporate that into a national campaign leading up to Super Tuesday?”
Mr. Trump outperformed Ms. Haley in the three primary states in which the two contested together. The two did not compete in Nevada, instead having dueling primaries and caucuses. Despite the loss, Haley vowed to remain in the race at least until Super Tuesday.
Steele also pointed to Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, and how she could be the next co-chair of the RNC.
“The reality is Donald Trump and everything he touches dies. Everything he tries to introduce doesn’t work,” he said. “The RNC will essentially be managed by his daughter-in-law from now on.”
The former president announced his support for his daughter-in-law earlier this month, with Lara vowing to put “every penny” into the RNC’s coffers to re-elect him to the White House.
The Hill has reached out to Haley and the Trump campaign for comment.
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