on monday, President Donald Trump has officially announced his endorsement of Michael Whatley, the current Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, to succeed Ronna McDaniel as Chair of the Republican National Committee.
In addition to Whatley, Trump has also thrown his support to his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, supporting her in the role of co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
Along with these endorsements, Trump has nominated Chris Lacivita, his co-campaign manager, to serve as the RNC's chief operating officer, although Lacivita is expected to continue in his current position in the meantime.
These endorsements come at a critical juncture for the Republican National Committee as it prepares for the 2024 presidential race. Trump's support is expected to significantly influence the committee's direction and strengthen his control over the party's apparatus.
Michael Whatley's endorsement comes despite his controversial reputation among North Carolina Republicans. At an election integrity event organized by Revival In Courage, LLC in 2021, Whatley faced booing and heckling from a crowd unhappy with his approach in the wake of the 2020 election.
During Whatley's speech, he insisted that the Republican Party's performance was commendable in the 2020 election. Although Whatley believed there was widespread fraud across the country, his dismissal of starting an audit in North Carolina led to an uproar among the audience , prompting him to quickly exit the stage.
He watches:
From Kate:
“On Saturday, September 18, Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley appeared and spoke briefly at an event about election integrity. This was the second day after presenting detailed statements from Seth Kechel, who initially began working on election integrity issues with General Flynn. They organized three events in North Carolina to develop compelling trend data. While President Trump won North Carolina, most conservative Republicans are certain the result was much higher than the official data shows. In fact, Seth Kechel's data shows that President Trump likely won by 250,000 votes more than was officially recorded. Moreover, based on this data, most conservative Republicans also do not believe Governor Roy Cooper was legitimately re-elected.
For these reasons, citizens are demanding a judicial audit, as happened in Arizona. So far, efforts to initiate the audit have been thwarted by Republicans in the state Legislature as well as party officials. President Whatley is “blocking President Trump” for reelection as party chairman and citizens are not happy with the GOP’s desire to fire him and “move on to 2022.”
So, when he came to speak and had the audacity to claim that “we” (i.e. “them the party”) did an excellent job in 2020, which we should be proud of, and which will carry us forward in 2022, the crowd started booing loudly. Loud and took him off the stage. Were there three previous days of events that clearly demonstrated election issues in North Carolina that he was not aware of? Shame on him if he doesn't have someone present and taking notes.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that after President Trump's wildly successful speech at the NCGOP convention in Greenville, North Carolina, in June 2021, party officials pushed NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley's messaging to ignore Trump's endorsement of U.S. Rep. Ted Budd for U.S. Senate. .
The Gateway Pundit attended the 2021 NCGOP Trump Dinner and VIP Event and spoke with several party members.
We're told Whatley ran for his position in the party as a Trump advocate, and was elected because party members believe he is close to the Trump administration.
Party members said they expected Whatley would stay close to Trump's America First agenda, but he was too reluctant to do so, according to several party members, to support or defend Trump.
Trump endorsed Ted Budd at a 2021 dinner, asking North Carolina voters to support “candidates who stand up for our values.” According to senior party officials, Whately disagreed.
The following is part of a letter from the chairman of the Union County Republican Party in 2021 that tarnished Trump's standing with Republicans:
“Awesome! What a great weekend for NCGOP!”
First, it was great to see everyone in person. We didn't have that last year and we missed it so much. Important connections are made that only happen in person.
The most notable event, of course, was the visit of President Trump. I hope you all watch it on TV. He clearly defined his policies, most of which were severely ignored. I think one of the most important things he discussed was going after China for reparations for the virus. He knows more about her and her origins than we do. ICYMI- You can find the speech on the right side of the broadcast 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 powerful statement, roughly paraphrased: Last night President Trump made an announcement at our conference regarding the U.S. Senate race. He was not speaking on behalf of the party. We did not know he would be making an endorsement. The party and I (Whatley, (But it applies to me and every other president) We will remain neutral throughout the primaries.
sincerely,
Allison Powers
Chairman of the Union County Republican Party
The Granville County Republican Party in North Carolina recently shared its concerns with The Gateway Pundit, stressing the need to prevent Whatley's ascension to the RNC chair.
“We must do everything we can to prevent our president from becoming chairman of the Republican National Committee. While he is an excellent administrator or chief of staff….maybe co-chair, he is not the leader we need right now. Please help,” the county GOP told TGP .
Discontent within the North Carolina Republican Party became evident, with the 13th Congressional District declaring a “breach of trust” over Wattley's and the Republican National Committee delegation's disregard for popular demands.
Read the message below:
Dear NC Delegation to the RNC,
Your blatant disregard for our call to action, and the unanimous resolutions of the 11th and 13th Congressional District Executive Committees demanding action to remove Ronna McDaniel as Chair of the Republican National Committee, is unacceptable, and the silence of the RNC delegation speaks volumes.
Adding to our disappointment is the fact that NCGOP Chair Michael Whatley's dual role as RNC General Counsel reduces our delegation's representation by a third, further frustrating us and disenfranchising 24 of the counties we represent. We have not yet received a response from President Whatley.
When Keshia Brassington was notified of our call to action, her response was, “Received.” We, the grassroots activists and 13th District leadership, do not see a path to support RNC Committeewoman Keshia Brassington's re-election bid.
“Ignore us at your peril,” we warned. You gave us no choice. We are now forced to find and support a replacement candidate for the RNC congresswoman.
Committee Member Broyhill has responded to our call to action through multiple conversations. Committee member Broyhill did not attend the RNC winter meeting.
We have demanded action, transparency, fair representation and recognition of popular voices – your continued ignoring has left us with no alternative, ignore us at your peril!
sincerely,
Roger Farina, President
Michael W. Magnanti, Senior Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
North Carolina Republican Party 13th Congressional District
According to the AP, “Some Republicans have accused Whatley of manufacturing his victory as state party chairman after a chaotic vote, leading to a legal challenge that presented evidence that some ballots were improperly cast. While Whatley and his allies have acknowledged that technical problems made voting using an app The party's mobile phone is a hassle, but they vehemently deny that the violations changed the outcome of the contest and point to dismissing the lawsuit.
“I can only conclude two possibilities. First, he felt he needed to cheat to win. Second, he's completely incompetent. “They're both incompetent,” said the news outlet. Whatley's opponent, John Cain Jr., described himself as “without a doubt.” The real “MAGA candidate” in the contest.
“Michael Whatley, who is being talked about as the next RNC chair, was the man who confirmed the use of a mobile voting app in the recent GOP election in North Carolina,” Emerald Robinson, a former Newsmax reporter and former OANN WH, wrote on her X account. Using the Internet without a paper ballot.The NC Republican Party and Whatley did not follow their own voting rules!
Read more about this story here: https://t.co/ka1125tj71
– Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) February 12, 2024
Professor David Clements also commented: “Michael Whately does not trust the integrity of the election.”
Michael Whatley discredits the integrity of the election.
Another big mistake on the endorsement front. https://t.co/mHWCZk9rCg
– Ledger – David K. Clements (@theprofsrecord) February 15, 2024
