GOP chairwoman attacks her own uncle after he criticized Trump in scathing op-ed

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, the niece of incoming Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), slammed her uncle on Wednesday after he wrote a scathing op-ed about President Donald Trump's character.

Without referring to her uncle by name, McDaniel criticized incoming Republican senators who "attack Donald Trump as their first act" and called such attacks "disappointing and unproductive."

Given that Romney is the only incoming freshman GOP lawmaker who has published a high-profile anti-Trump op-ed over the last day, it's clear that the RNC chairwoman is referring to her own uncle in her tweet.

In his op-ed, Romney said the Trump White House underwent a “deep descent” in December and vowed to speak out against the president when necessary.

“His conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office,” Romney wrote. “It is not that all of the president’s policies have been misguided… But policies and appointments are only a part of a presidency.”

Romney has long been a critic of President Trump, even though he gladly accepted Trump's endorsement for both the presidency in 2012 and for his Senate bid in 2018.

Trump, who has long had a troubled relationship with the incoming Utah senator, reportedly asked McDaniel if she would be willing to stop using her middle name in public for as long as she led the RNC. McDaniel has since subsequently dropped the name "Romney" from her Twitter profile.