The general election is less than 10 months away, but appears as though a leadership change is afoot for the Republican National Committee (RNC). According to reports, Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel discussed the possibility of stepping down during a private meeting with former President Donald Trump earlier this month.
One of the more vocal critics of McDaniel’s tenure at the RNC has been Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA. In recent days, there have been media reports targeting him and his organization that he believes represent a “coordinated” attack from the “disgruntled RNC regime.”
On Tuesday’s show, Kirk joined Megyn to discuss the expected leadership change and why he is unperturbed by the coverage he is receiving.
Sea Change at the RNC
Reports suggest that McDaniel will resign from her role as RNC chair after the South Carolina primary on Saturday. She has been in the role since 2017 and previously served as chair of the Michigan Republican Party from 2015 to 2017.
McDaniel and Trump met at Mar-a-Lago in early February presumably to discuss her future. On his Truth Social platform, the 2024 GOP hopeful seemed to imply that changes were coming. He called McDaniel “my friend” but said she was “now Head of the RNC, and I’ll be making a decision the day after the South Carolina Primary as to my recommendations for RNC Growth.”
During her tenure, Republicans gained two Senate seats but lost 40 in the House in 2018. The party failed to win the 2020 presidential election and posted smaller than expected gains in 2022. There have also been questions about the finances of the organization.
Kirk, who is working on extensive get out the vote efforts through Turning Point USA, has been outspoken about the RNC’s lack of results. “We made it a focus to try to have regime change at the RNC because we want to win… This was not a personal thing,” he explained. “We were underwhelmed repeatedly with election results… and if you’re not winning games, you should no longer be in charge of the team.”
In his view, McDaniel has not taken responsibility for the GOP’s recent losses. “Instead of kind of acknowledging that things could be going better, we were met with defiance and we were met with doublespeak,” he shared. “So long story short, we made a focus to try and change the leadership of the RNC.”
Knives Out
It appears as though McDaniel is on her way out the door, but she may not be going quietly. “I’ve seen two separate hit pieces on you, [Charlie], one from RealClearPolitics and one from NBC,” Megyn noted. “The RealClearPolitics one wasn’t really a hit piece, but it was sort of trying to say that there’s a lot of anger toward you because Ronna Romney McDaniel has been booted.”
As Kirk pointed out, the reports – which were published days apart – not only have similar themes but similar titles. The RCP article by White House correspondent Philip Wegmann is headlined “Sharp Elbows, Even Sharper Knives in Trump Inner Sanctums,” while NBC News titled its piece “Conservative activist Charlie Kirk helped oust Ronna McDaniel at the RNC. Now the knives are out for him.” It features a joint, four-person byline. “I’m unfazed by it,” he said. “It’s all the typical left-wing attack vectors that are repurposed by this disgruntled outgoing RNC regime.”
The gist of the articles, as Megyn explained, is that Kirk and his organization are “causing trouble for Donald Trump” through their commentary, grassroots organizing, and fundraising efforts. “These stories happen every so often, though this is obviously the spiciest one that I’ve ever been through,” Kirk acknowledged. “It’s the most direct salvo from the Republican establishment, but I say bring it on.”
Kirk said his focus has been and will continue to be on November. “We believe we’ve identified an issue which is to try to help low-propensity Republican or center right voters be able to vote in ‘voting month,’” he concluded. “We need to not just try to flood the polls on Election Day, but have people who vote early and to expand our ability to run up the score leading into Election Day.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Kirk by tuning in to episode 727 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.