Vivek Ramaswamy made waves at the third Republican Presidential debate after another disappointing election. He called on RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, in particular, to resign. McDaniel was furious and sat in the front row while a candidate from her own party demanded her resignation.
Ramaswamy posted a video clip to his social media account, allowing him to capitalize on the moment.
I’m sick and tired of this Republican Establishment that has made us a party of losers. Where is the accountability for years of losing: 2018, 2020, 2022 and now last night? I’m calling on @GOPChairwoman to resign tonight. pic.twitter.com/8hxVqWGlwL
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 9, 2023
McDaniel, a long-time ally of Donald Trump’s, recently received praise, but the mood among the Republican electorate is overwhelmingly negative. The majority of the anger stems from the perception that the RNC is not doing enough to win the election, and many point to a series of disappointing results between 2018-2023.
McDaniel’s response to Ramaswamy was impressive, given the pressure she’s under. The chairwoman made some personal remarks while appearing on Fox News Business.
She said this after denying Ramaswamy had confronted the woman following the debate. NBC News’ post-event coverage had implied that Ramaswamy had done so.
Listen, he is at 4%. He needs a headline. I will say what I have been saying all along to the Republicans, that our headlines should focus on Joe Biden, the border, crime, and the terrible things happening in this nation that the American public is looking to our party to find solutions. I will also stand by my record of being RNC chair.
When I was Michigan Chair, I delivered Michigan for 30 years. We just won the House back under my leadership. Let me add another thing. We would have won the Electoral College based on the turnout of four million additional Republicans in 2022. Our candidates’ messaging on abortion has been lost because we don’t do any messaging.
McDaniel mentions winning Michigan in 2016, so it’s important to put that into context. Since McDaniel took over the RNC in 2016, the Republicans haven’t won Michigan.
Prior to the elections, projections suggested that a majority of over 20 seats could have been achieved. In the Senate, Republicans lost seats even though they were projected to win comfortably. Since McDaniel came to power, the GOP’s performance in major elections has been either poor or negative. She is in her fourth term.
In this interview, her answer was that the RNC “doesn’t do state elections.” This would raise the question of why they don’t participate in important “state elections” given that all elections take place at the state level. The RNC is not prohibited by law from funding ads or other get-out-the-vote mechanisms at the state level.
McDaniel then continued to slam Ramaswamy, saying that he had voted for Barack Obama so didn’t understand how the RNC worked.
Republicans in Virginia did not respond to the Democrats’ 16 million dollars spent on abortion advertisements. Democrats in Kentucky spent millions of dollars on abortion ads, and we didn’t respond. We are a federal committee and don’t participate in state races. I understand that Vivek is new to the party. He voted for Obama, so he might not be aware of this.
I don’t know what the strategy here is. McDaniel has been attacked, but why should the RNC chairwoman respond in this manner? Someone in a position of authority should laugh this off and take the higher road.
This type of dysfunction is unfortunately widespread within the Republican Party. Both the leadership and the base of the Republican Party are fragmented. The real tragedy is that none of this will help the GOP in 2024.
