On Monday, President Donald Trump officially announced his endorsement of Michael Whatley, the current Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, to succeed Ronna McDaniel as the chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
In addition to Whatley, Trump has also thrown his support behind his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, endorsing her for the role of co-chairwoman at the RNC.
Alongside these endorsements, Trump has nominated Chris LaCivita, his co-campaign manager, to take on the role of RNC chief operating officer, though LaCivita is expected to continue in his current role simultaneously.
These endorsements come at a critical juncture for the RNC as it prepares for the 2024 Presidential race. Trump’s support is anticipated to significantly influence the committee’s direction and bolster his control over the Party apparatus.
Michael Whatley’s endorsement comes despite his contentious reputation among North Carolina Republicans. At an election integrity event organized by Revival In Courage, LLC in 2021, Whatley faced boos and heckles from a crowd displeased with his approach to the 2020 election aftermath.
During Whatley’s speech, he insisted the GOP had performed commendably in the 2020 elections. Although Whatley believed that there was massive fraud all throughout the country, his dismissal to launch an audit in North Carolina led to an uproar among attendees, prompting his swift exit from the stage.
WATCH:
From Kate:
“On Saturday, September 18th, GOP Chairman Michael Whatley showed up and spoke briefly at an election integrity event. This was the second day following the detailed data presentation from Seth Keshel, who initially started working on the election integrity issues with General Flynn. They had had three events in North Carolina laying out the compelling trends data. While President Trump did win the state of North Carolina, most conservative Republicans are certain it was much higher than the official data shows. In fact, Seth Keshel’s data shows President Trump likely won by 250,000 more votes than officially recorded. Further, based on this data, most conservative Republicans also do not believe that Governor Roy Cooper was legitimately re-elected.
For these reasons, citizens are demanding a forensic audit like in Arizona. To date, efforts to launch an audit have been stymied by Republicans in the State Legislature as well as party officials. Chairman Whatley “road President Trump’s coattails” in order to gain re-election as the party chair and citizens are not happy the GOP wants to dismiss it and “move on to 2022.”
Therefore, when he showed up to speak and had the audacity to claim that “we” (meaning “they the party”) had done an excellent job in 2020 that “we” should be proud of that will carry us forward in 2022, the crowd began to loudly boo and essentially drove him off the stage. There had been three previous days of events clearly showing election issues in North Carolina that he wasn’t aware of? Shame on him if he didn’t have someone attending and taking notes.”
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that after President Trump’s hugely successful speech at the NCGOP convention in Greenville, North Carolina, in June 2021, party officials pushed the messaging of NCGOP chairman Michael Whatley to ignore Trump’s endorsement of US House Rep. Ted Budd for US Senate.
The Gateway Pundit attended the 2021 NCGOP Trump dinner and VIP event and spoke with numerous party members.
We were told that Whatley ran for his position in the party as an advocate for Trump and was elected because party members believed he was close to the Trump administration.
Party members said that they expected Whatley would stay close to Trump’s America First agenda, yet he has been very hesitant to do that, 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 for our values.” According to top Party officials, Whatley disagreed.
The following is a portion of a letter from the Union County GOP Chair in 2021 that discredited Trump’s position with Republicans:
“Wow! What a great weekend for the NCGOP!
First of all, it was wonderful to see everyone in person. We did not have that last year and it was greatly missed. Important connections are made that only happen in person.
The big highlight, of course, was President Trump’s visit. I hope you all caught it on TV. He clearly outlined his policies, most of which are sorely missed. I think one of the most important things he discussed was going after China for reparations on the virus. He knows more than we do about it and the origins. ICYMI- You can find the speech on the Right side Broadcasting by looking at rsbnetwork.com
Just a quick note from John Steward, our 9th District Chairman regarding Trump’s endorsement of Ted Budd-
“NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley just made a clear and strong statement, roughly paraphrased: Last night Pres Trump made an announcement at our convention regarding the US Senate race. He was not speaking on behalf of the Party. We did not know he was going to make an endorsement. The Party and Myself (Whatley, but applies to me and every other chairman) will remain neutral throughout the primary.”
Sincerely,
Allison Powers
Chairman, Union County GOP”
The Granville County GOP in North Carolina recently shared their concerns with The Gateway Pundit, emphasizing the need to block Whatley’s rise to the RNC Chair.
“We must do all we can to prevent our Chairman from becoming the Chair of the RNC. While he is an excellent administrator or chief of staff…. Perhaps Co-Chair, he is NOT the leader we need right now. Please help,” the county GOP told TGP.
The discontent within the North Carolina Republican Party is palpable, with the 13th Congressional District expressing a “Betrayal of Trust” over Whatley’s 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 resolutions unanimously passed from the 11th and 13th Congressional District Executive Committees demanding a motion to remove Ronna McDaniel as RNC Chairwoman is unacceptable, and the silence from our RNC delegation speaks volumes.
Adding to our disappointment is the fact that NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley’s dual role as RNC General Counsel diminishes our delegation’s representation by 1/3, compounding our frustration and effectively disenfranchising 24 of the counties we represent. We have yet to receive a response from Chairman Whatley.
When Kyshia Brassington was notified of our call to action, her response was, “received”. We, the grassroots activists and 13th District leadership, do not see a pathway of support for Kyshia Brassington’s RNC Committeewoman re-election bid.
We warned, “Ignore us at your Peril.” You’ve given us no choice. We are now compelled to seek out and support an alternative candidate for RNC Committeewoman.
Committeeman Broyhill has responded to our call to action through multiple conversations. Committeeman Broyhill did not attend the RNC Winter meeting.
We demanded action, transparency, fair representation, and an acknowledgment of grassroots voices – your continued disregard has left us with no alternative, IGNORE US AT YOUR PERIL!
Sincerely,
Roger Farina, Chairman
Michael W. Magnanti, 1st Vice Chairman
North Carolina Republican Party 13th Congressional District
According to the AP, “Whatley has been accused by some Republicans of essentially manufacturing his win as state party chairman following a chaotic vote, which resulted in a legal challenge that offered evidence some ballots were improperly cast. While Whatley and his allies acknowledged that technical problems made voting with the party’s mobile app difficult, they vehemently deny that the irregularities changed the outcome of the contest and note that the lawsuit was dismissed.”
“I can only conclude two possibilities. One, he felt he needed to cheat to win. Two, he is completely incompetent. Both are disqualifying,” said Whatley’s challenger, John Kane Jr., who described himself as “unquestionably” the true “MAGA candidate” in the contest,” the news outlet added.
Ex-Newsmax & Ex-OANN WH Correspondent Emerald Robinson wrote on her X account, “Michael Whatley, who’s being talked about for the next RNC chair, was the guy who made sure a mobile voting app was used in the last North Carolina GOP election using the Internet with no paper ballot. The NC GOP & Whatley did not follow their own voting rules!”
Read more on this story here: https://t.co/ka1125tj71
— Emerald Robinson
(@EmeraldRobinson) February 12, 2024
Prof. David Clements also weighed in and said, “Michael Whatley sucks on election integrity.”
Michael Whatley sucks on election integrity.
Another major miss on the endorsement front.https://t.co/mHWCZk9rCg
— The Professor’s Record – David K. Clements (@theprofsrecord) February 15, 2024
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