The RNC will choose its new Chair at its winter meeting in Dana Point, California, at the end of January. While current Chair Ronna McDaniel has held the spot since 2017, she’s being challenged for it by RNC National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon, as well as by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell.
Calls for McDaniel’s ouster have been increasing, particularly given recent revelations regarding the RNC’s spending practices under McDaniel’s leadership, with even conservative talk show host Mark Levin declaring, “She needs to go.”
Former President Donald Trump, who supported McDaniel’s bid for the seat following his 2016 victory, was asked, on Friday, whether he favored Dhillon or McDaniel.
“I think they’re both good…I like them both. It’s like when I asked Queen Elizabeth when we were together: ‘Which president did you like the best?’ She said: ‘I liked them all.’ ‘Which one did you like the best?’ ‘I liked them all. They’re all great.’ I said, ‘But didn’t you like Ronald Reagan the best?’ She said: ‘No I liked them all. I liked Ronald Reagan very much, but I liked them all.’ Then I said: ‘Which prime minister did you like the best? Was it Winston Churchill?’ ‘I like them all. I like every one.’ Then I realized how smart she was. I said, you know that’s why she stayed there for 75 years.’”
Trump also acknowledged that Dhillon represents him, noting, “Harmeet is a lawyer for me you know.”
For that matter, Dhillon has also represented the RNC.
Federal election data shows that Dhillon’s eponymous law firm took in more than $440,000 from two Trump-aligned groups last cycle, though Dhillon has told members she would cut ties with Trump if elected chairwoman in order to comply with the RNC’s commitment to remain neutral in the 2024 presidential primary. During the same period, her law firm received nearly $900,000 from the RNC, federal election data shows.
Dhillon has told members she would cease working for Trump if elected chairwoman, acknowledging that “it would be a conflict of interest” for her to continue on as an attorney for the former president in the midst of a presidential primary in which he is competing
Trump, of course, has also counted Lindell among his close allies. Given his announced presidential candidacy, it makes sense for him to remain neutral on the RNC Chair race, though that’s often not his style.