(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel turned emotional as she delivered a farewell speech at a Texas meeting where the new co-chairs of the GOP were elected.
“It is a little bit bittersweet to be with all of you here today as I step down as chair after seven years of working with you all,” McDaniel said Friday, as she reflected on her seven years leading the RNC.
McDaniel grew emotional as she spoke of her husband, Patrick McDaniel, and his unwavering support.
“This is when I knew I would get emotional,” McDaniel conceded, her voice breaking. “Patrick is amazing. When President Trump and the team came to me to do this job, seven years ago, I said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘No.’”
McDaniel implied that it was her husband who persuaded her to take on the two-year post as RNC chair in 2017. “Patrick turned to me and said, ‘Honey, we can do anything for two years.’ It’s only seven years,” she remarked, prompting the crowd to break into laughter.
In the meeting, Michael Whatley, the former chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, and Lara Trump, former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, were elected as co-chairs of the RNC after Trump’s endorsement.
McDaniel’s resignation followed widespread criticism on social media over the GOP’s electoral losses after Trump secured victory in the 2016 presidential election.
Republicans lost the House of Representatives in 2018, the Senate, and the White House in 2020. In the 2022 midterms, Republicans barely secured a narrow majority in the House despite facing a scandal-ridden President Joe Biden.
Trump seemed to concur with the criticism and asked McDaniel to step down earlier this year.
During her farewell speech, McDaniel appeared to acknowledge the need for change. “President Trump deserves to have the change in place he wants in place at the RNC,” she said.
Despite the backlash miring McDaniel, Kansas RNC Committeewoman Kim Bochers hailed McDaniel, implying that she has “been through the fire.”
