On Monday, President Donald Trump has officially announced his support for Michael Whatley, current chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, as Ronna McDaniel’s successor as chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
In addition to Whatley, Trump also threw his support behind his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, backing her for the RNC co-chair role.
In addition to these endorsements, Trump has named Chris LaCivita, his campaign co-manager, to take on the role of chief operating officer of the RNC, although LaCivita is expected to continue in his current role concurrently.
These endorsements come at a critical time for the RNC as it prepares for the 2024 presidential race. Trump’s support is expected to significantly influence the direction of the committee and strengthen its control over the Party apparatus.
Michael Whatley’s endorsement comes despite his controversial reputation among North Carolina Republicans. At an election integrity event hosted by Revival In Courage, LLC in 2021, Whatley faced boos and criticism from a crowd unhappy with his approach to the aftermath of the 2020 election.
During the speech, Whatley insisted that the GOP had performed commendably in the 2020 election. Although Whatley believed there was mass fraud across the country, his firing to launch an audit in North Carolina caused a stir among the attendees, resulting in his rapid exit from the stage.
CLOCK:
From Kate:
“On Saturday, September 18, GOP Chairman Michael Whatley showed up and spoke briefly at an event on election integrity. This was the second day after the detailed data presentation by Seth Keshel, who initially began working on election integrity issues with General Flynn. They had three events in North Carolina that presented compelling trend data. Even though President Trump won the state of North Carolina, most conservative Republicans are certain that the result was much higher than official data shows. In fact, Seth Keshel’s data shows that President Trump likely won by 250,000 more votes than were officially recorded. Furthermore, based on this data, even most conservative Republicans do not believe that Governor Roy Cooper was legitimately re-elected.
For these reasons, citizens are calling for a forensic audit like in Arizona. To date, efforts to launch an audit have been stymied by Republicans in the state legislature and party officials. President Whatley “leaves in President Trump’s footsteps” to gain re-election as party chair and citizens are unhappy that the GOP wants to fire him and “move on to 2022.”
Therefore, when he showed up to speak and had the audacity to say that “we” (meaning “they the party”) did a great job in 2020 that “we” should be proud of and that will take us forward in the 2022, the crowd started booing loudly and essentially kicked him off the stage. Had there been three previous days of events that clearly showed election problems in North Carolina that he was unaware of? He would be ashamed if he didn’t have someone present and taking notes.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that, following President Trump’s highly successful speech at the NCGOP convention in Greenville, North Carolina, in June 2021, party officials pushed NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley’s message to ignore Trump’s endorsement of U.S. House Representative Ted Budd for U.S. Senate. .
The Gateway Pundit attended the 2021 NCGOP Trump dinner and VIP event and spoke with numerous party members.
We’re told Whatley ran for his party position as a Trump supporter and was elected because party members believed he was close to the Trump administration.
Party members said they expected Whatley would stay close to Trump’s America First agenda, but he was very reluctant to do so, according to numerous party members, to support or defend Trump.
Trump endorsed Ted Budd at the 2021 dinner, asking North Carolina voters to support “candidates who stand up for our values.” According to senior party officials, Whatley disagreed.
The following is a portion of a letter from the 2021 Union County GOP chairman disparaging Trump’s stance toward Republicans:
“Oh! What a great weekend for the NCGOP!
First of all, it was wonderful to see everyone in person. We didn’t have him last year and we missed him a lot. Important bonds are created that only happen in person.
The highlight, of course, was President Trump’s visit. I hope you all saw it on TV. He clearly outlined his policies, most of which are sorely lacking. I think one of the most important things he discussed was seeking compensation from China for the virus. He knows more than us about the topic and its origins. ICYMI- You can find the speech on the right side of the broadcast by looking at rsbnetwork.com
Just a quick note from John Steward, our 9th District President, regarding Trump’s support of Ted Budd-
“NCGOP President Michael Whatley just made a loud and clear statement, crudely paraphrased: President Trump made an announcement at our convention last night regarding the U.S. Senate race. He did not speak on behalf of the party. We didn’t know he was going to make an endorsement. I and the Party (Whatley, but it applies to me and all the other presidents) will remain neutral for the entire duration of the primaries.”
Best regards,
Allison Powers
Chairman, Union County GOP”
The Granville County GOP in North Carolina recently shared its concerns with The Gateway Pundit, emphasizing the need to block Whatley’s ascension to RNC chairmanship.
“We must do everything we can to prevent our president from becoming chairman of the RNC. Although he is an excellent administrator or chief of staff…. Perhaps Co-President, is NOT the leader we need right now. Please help me,” the county GOP told TGP.
Discontent within the North Carolina Republican Party is palpable, with the 13th congressional district expressing a “betrayal of trust” over Whatley and the RNC delegation’s disregard for grassroots demands.
Read the letter below:
Dear NC Delegation to the RNC,
Your blatant disregard for our call to action and the resolutions passed unanimously by the 11th and 13th Congressional District executive committees calling for a motion to remove Ronna McDaniel as RNC Chair is unacceptable, and the silence of our delegation RNC says it all.
Adding to our disappointment is the fact that NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley’s dual role as RNC general counsel diminishes the representation of our delegation by 1/3, compounding our frustration and effectively disenfranchising 24 of the counties we represent. We have yet to receive a response from President Whatley.
When Kyshia Brassington was made aware of our call to action, her response was “received.” We, the grassroots activists and leadership of the 13th District, do not see a path of support for RNC committee member Kyshia Brassington’s re-election bid.
We warned: “Ignore us at your peril.” You gave us no choice. We are now forced to seek and support an alternative candidate for the RNC committee member role.
Committee member Broyhill responded to our call to action through multiple conversations. Committee member Broyhill did not attend the RNC winter meeting.
We have called for action, transparency, fair representation and recognition of grassroots voices – your continued contempt has left us with no options, IGNORE US AT YOUR PERIL!
Best regards,
Ruggero Farina, President
Michael W. Magnanti, first vice president
North Carolina Republican Party’s 13th Congressional District
According to the AP, “Whatley was accused by some Republicans of essentially fabricating his victory as state party chairman following a chaotic vote, which led to a legal challenge that offered evidence that some ballots had been expressed improperly. While Whatley and his allies acknowledge that technical problems made it difficult to vote with the party’s mobile app, they vehemently deny that the irregularities changed the outcome of the contest and point out that the lawsuit was dismissed.”
“I can only conclude two possibilities. First, she felt she had to cheat to win. Two, he is completely incompetent. Both are disqualifying,” said Whatley’s challenger, John Kane Jr., who described himself as “without a doubt” the real “MAGA candidate” in the contest,” the news outlet added.
Emerald Robinson, a former Newsmax correspondent and former OANN WH, wrote on her X account: “Michael Whatley, who is being talked about for the next RNC chair, was the guy who made sure a mobile voting app was used in North Carolina’s most recent GOP election.” using the Internet without paper voting. The NC GOP and Whatley did not follow their own voting rules!
Read more about this story here: https://t.co/ka1125tj71
— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) February 12, 2024
Prof. David Clements also chimed in and said, “Michael Whatley sucks when it comes to election integrity.”
Michael Whatley sucks at election integrity.
Another major lapse on the approval front.https://t.co/mHWCZk9rCg
— The Professor’s Record – David K. Clements (@theprofsrecord) February 15, 2024