A report on Thursday confirmed that the Republican National Convention (RNC) will stop paying former President Donald Trump’s legal bills if he runs for president in 2024, in order to not appear biased in favour of any candidates in the primaries.
The RNC is at present paying for several of Trump’s legal fights, including personal lawsuits and government investigations into his affairs. That funding would end if Trump announced his candidacy for the party’s presidential nomination in 2024, ABC News reported.
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel previously said that the GOP could not be biased in favour of a specific candidate during the presidential primaries.
"The party has to stay neutral. I’m not telling anybody to run or not to run in 2024,” McDaniel said in January.
The movie was seen by some as an attempt to prevent Trump from announcing a run for the White House before the November midterms which senior Republicans fear could jeopardize the party’s chances to run on inflation, soaring energy coasts and President Joe Biden’s low approval rating, Fox News reported.
"My point to [Trump] has always been, 'Let's go win '22,'" House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Tuesday.
Trump said earlier in the month that he has made up his mind about running but has not decided whether he will make the announcement before or after the midterms.