Former Republican National Committee (RNC) leader Michael Steele criticized Speaker Ronna McDaniel in his farewell speech, claiming that her talk of “unity” within the party was “a huge mess”.
“Unity goes both ways,” Steele said Saturday, a day after McDaniel officially resigned as RNC chairman. “And there is no unity when you call Republicans like me RINOs (Republicans in name only) who have been members for over 50 years.”
His rebuke came after McDaniel acknowledged Friday that the Republican Party has “problems” but needs to find unity before the November election.
“We want to make sure we’re united for the next election,” McDaniel said. “Seven years ago, I talked a lot about unity. I talk about that all the time. Listen to me, everyone. You can’t win if you’re divided.”
“We can only win by addition, we can’t win by subtraction. That’s why I have worked so hard to expand the tent,” she added.
Steele, co-host of MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” argued that unity has already been shattered by intraparty infighting.
“Unity is not unity when you disavow and dismantle the very foundations of a once proud party based on the ideals and ideals of Lincoln, Eisenhower, Reagan and Bush,” he said on Saturday, when he was party leader. He added: In the committee’s opinion, the Republicans had won the election.
“There is no room for this kind of unity when we allow authoritarian, white nationalist, illiberal behavior to overwhelm and consume the very foundations of our party. We need to see conversations about unity among ourselves and bring that to others,” Steele continued. “Because there is a discrepancy there.”
He further added: I was doing just fine until your back showed up. I won the election, right? what did you do? ”
McDaniel’s decision to resign was not unexpected. He announced his plans to resign late last month after being approached by former President Donald Trump, who is likely to become the Republican nominee for the White House.
President Trump endorsed his preference, North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley, to chair the committee. He also named his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as RNC co-chair.
Following McDaniel’s resignation, the commission formally elected Whatley and Lara Trump as its chair.
Lara Trump, wife of Trump’s son Eric, will focus on fundraising as co-chair, as the RNC lags behind Democrats in fundraising for the 2024 election.
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