Former President Donald Trump is backing his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to serve as Republican National Committee co-chair—an endorsement that is being decried by critics and supporters online as nepotism.
The endorsement comes alongside that of North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley, who Trump has backed to succeed Ronna McDaniel, famous for being Mitt Romney’s daughter.
Whatley has consistently echoed Trump’s often-baseless talking points about election fraud and pushed to censure former Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) for his vote in favor of Trump’s second impeachment.
“Michael has been with me from the beginning, has done a great job in his home state of North Carolina, and is committed to election integrity, which we must have to keep fraud out of our election so it can’t be stolen,” Trump said in a statement on Monday. “My very talented daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, has agreed to run as RNC Co-Chair. Lara is an extremely talented communicator and is dedicated to all MAGA stands for. She has told me she wants to accept this challenge and would be GREAT!”
In the same statement, Trump also announced he would back Chris LaCivita—his presidential co-campaign manager—to become chief operating officer of the RNC. According to a report by Politico, LaCivita will continue to serve as Trump’s co-campaign manager.
The proposed shakeup of the RNC follows growing criticism of McDaniel by Trump over the organization’s handling of funds, a string of GOP losses last fall, as well as her pledge that the national party would stay neutral during the primary.
The Associated Press reported last week that McDaniel had discussed stepping down during a private meeting with Trump, but that no decision will be made until after South Carolina’s primary in late February.
Critics of Trump were quick to mock his decision to support Lara Trump for the co-chair role, with commenters online offering brutal assessments.
“Lara Trump heading the RNC? They’re gonna loot it like it’s a cancer charity,” one X user wrote in a post that has garnered more than 5,000 likes.
“Lara Trump being the co-chair of the RNC will end just as poorly as her music career,” quipped someone else.
“This will certainly make stealing campaign funds to pay his legal expenses and settlements for fraud and defamation easier,” wrote someone else.
“In what way is Lara Trump ‘battle-tested’? Lmao GTFO with this nepotism,” one right-wing user criticized. “We are on the cusp of expelling a nepo baby. We don’t need another.”
A left-wing user voiced a similar opinion, saying: “Lara Trump as co-chair of the RNC is equal parts cultism, nepotism, hubris, and self-destructive behavior.”
One user chimed in to quip: “Please stop calling Lara Trump a ‘nepo baby.’ She is technically a ‘nepo baby-in-law of a nepo baby.’ Because the only reason we know her name is because of nepo baby Donald Trump.”
If McDaniel does indeed step down, Whatley and Lara Trump would have to be voted in by the committee, though the vote would likely be just a formality.
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