An ally of former President Donald Trump has withdrawn a resolution submitted to the Republican National Committee to try and get the ex-president declared the presumptive nominee before he amassed a majority of delegates to win the primary.
David Bossie, an RNC committeeman from Maryland, pulled the resolution Thursday night, a person familiar told DailyMail.com, after Trump said it wasn’t necessary.
A spokesperson for Trump’s sole rival, former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley, had earlier on Thursday lashed out at the maneuver.
‘While I greatly appreciate the Republican National Committee (RNC) wanting to make me their PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEE, and while they have far more votes than necessary to do it, I feel, for the sake of PARTY UNITY, that they should NOT go forward with this plan, but that I should do it the “Old Fashionen” way, and finish the process off AT THE BALLOT BOX,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday night. ‘Thank you to the RNC for the Respect and Devotion you have shown me! TRUMP2024.’
Earlier, a spokesperson for the RNC made clear that it was Bossie – not Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel – behind the push.
Former President Donald Trump dances onstage at his victory party Tuesday night in Nashua, New Hampshire. He won the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary but became enraged at former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley’s decision to stay in the 2024 race
That being said, he said it wasn’t necessary for the Republican National Committee to vote on a resolution at next week’s winter meeting that would declare him the ‘presumptive’ nominee before he amasses a majority of the delegates – how a candidate wins the primary
David Bossie, an ally of former President Donald Trump and an RNC committeeman from Maryland, submitted a draft resolution that would have the Republican National Committee deem Trump the presumptive nominee. He pulled the draft resolution Thursday night
‘Resolutions, such as this one, are brought forward by members of the RNC. Chairwoman McDaniel doesn’t offer resolutions,’ spokesperson Keith Schipper said in a statement to DailyMail.com.
Haley’s campaign spokesperson, Olivia Perez-Cubas told The Dispatch, which first reported on Bossie’s plot, asked, ‘Who cares what the RNC says?’
‘We’ll let millions of Republican voters across the country decide who should be our party’s nominee, not a bunch of Washington insiders,’ Perez-Cubas added. ‘If Ronna McDaniel wants to be helpful she can organize a debate in South Carolina, unless she’s also worried that Trump can’t handle being on the stage for 90 minutes with Nikki Haley.’
After losing Iowa and New Hampshire to Trump, Haley said Tuesday night she would press on, taking the 2024 primary race to her home state of South Carolina, which holds its GOP primary on February 24.
The move enraged Trump and motivated Bossie, an author and prominent figure in the MAGA world.
The vote could have come as early as next week, as the RNC’s Winter Meeting is taking place in Las Vegas.
Under current RNC rules, Trump has to amass a majority of delegates – 1,215 – to become the party’s true presumptive nominee.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley 's campaign lashed out Thursday at a plot to have the Republican National Committee declare former President Donald Trump the presumptive nominee before he amasses a majority of delegates
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel said Tuesday night on Fox News Channel that she believed the 'eventual nominee' would be former President Donald Trump
After the first two contests, the ex-president has 32 delegates to Haley's 17.
Adding fuel to the fire, RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel had already expressed that she believed Haley should drop out of the race so Republicans can focus on November's general election against Democratic President Joe Biden.
During an appearance on Fox News Channel Tuesday night - after New Hampshire was called for Trump - McDaniel said that 'looking at the math and the path going forward ... I don't see it for Nikki Haley.'
'I think she's run a great campaign,' McDaniel continued. ''But I do think there's a message that is coming out from the voters, which is very clear, we need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump, and we need to make sure we beat Joe Biden.'
McDaniel's comments irritated at least one former staffer, Brittany Martinez, the former deputy director of Hispanic media for the Republican Party who also worked for now former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
'Former RNC staffer here. Funny I thought the RNC wasn't supposed to get involved in primaries?' Martinez commented on X Wednesday, sharing the McDaniel Fox clip.
'Rather than try to call the race now, why don’t they focus their efforts on urging Trump to debate Nikki and also sign the RNC nominee loyalty pledge? Neither of which he has done,' Martinez also said.
Trump refused to debate any of his Republican rivals, whereas Haley showed up to all of the primary debates, though declined to do another one-on-one against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after the two tussled in Iowa earlier this month.
That meant that two primary debates scheduled to take place in New Hampshire were scrapped.
DeSantis shockingly pulled out of the presidential race Sunday, ahead of Tuesday's Granite State vote, and endorsed Trump, making the race a face-off between the ex-president and his former U.N. ambassador.
The RNC's 2024 Winter Meeting in Las Vegas will happen before any more votes are cast.
It comes days before Republican primary voters head to the polls - also in Nevada.
But because of a bizarre rift between state lawmakers and the Trump-aligned Nevada Republican Party, there will be both a Republican primary and caucus in Nevada in early February and only the caucus winner will receive delegates toward the nomination.
Because Haley is participating in the primary and not the caucus that means all of Nevada's delegates will go to Trump.
Once Nevada is concluded, 26 more delegates - out of 2,429 - will be awarded.