Michael Steele (MSNBC)
A former Republican National Committee chairman hears the desperation of party insiders looking for a way to stop the Donald Trump’s seemingly inevitable presidential nomination, and he has a grim message for them.
“That clamoring sound you hear is the donor and establishment political class saying we need someone in this race now,” former RNC Chairman Michael Steele said Friday during an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Beat with Ari Melber.”
“My submission to all of them is, ‘y’all too late.’”
Steele said Trump’s rise in the polls in recent months has made the Republican donor class apprehensive about the party's prospects of winning the 2024 election.
“There is the moneyed class inside the GOP, the donors and the established political leadership that want to grab someone, anyone who can walk and chew gum and not throw up all over themselves at the same time,” Steele said.
But the growing field of candidates joining the race will likely make it easier for the former president to secure the GOP nomination for a third straight time.
“I will repeat once again, for all those who think otherwise, Donald Trump will be the nominee of this party until someone decides that they're prepared to lose this primary in order to win a general election and beat Joe Biden,” Steele said.
“That means taking Trump on and not worrying so much about that 35 percent of the overall base, figure out how to cobble the rest of the votes that are out there.”
Steele called for party leaders to use their clout to shape the race as did the party bosses of the past in smoke-filled rooms.
“So the party has leverage here,” Steele said.
“The party has the ability to help shape the outcome of their primaries if they want. We used to call it the backroom. Now it's in the front room. It's a primary process, but you can play a role there.”
That role involves developing a consensus candidate the party could rally around.
“Y'all decide amongst yourselves who you want to back, it’s gonna be a mano a mano, and we put all the resources behind that individual to go after Trump," he added.
“If you can't decide, the party will, because again, you're just a candidate. You're not ‘the’ person. You’ve got to get to be ‘the’ person."
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