A new report from the Washington Post indicates that Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel's ouster was a long time coming.
In fact, it all began when McDaniel refused to get fully behind attorney Sidney Powell's claims that the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez had engaged in a decade-spanning conspiracy to steal the 2020 election from former President Donald Trump.
In fact, the Post reports that McDaniel first drew Trump's ire after she "backed away from defending" him on TV after "RNC lawyers... concluded that claims from Trump’s lawyers were hogwash."
While Trump decided to initially stick with supporting McDaniel as RNC chair, her unwillingness to entertain claims about Italian satellites flipping votes to President Joe Biden reportedly created long-term resentment that made him sour on other aspects of her performance.
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Trump ally Steve Bannon took credit for the push to oust McDaniel in an interview with the Post, and he put her unwillingness to go all-in on "Stop the Steal" conspiracy theories as his top grievance.
“We saw the RNC not do anything beforehand and afterward,” he complained. “That’s the burning heart of this issue. This is a MAGA revolt to take over the Republican Party.”
Not every Republican appears to be happy with McDaniel's ouster, however.
Bill Palatucci, a New Jersey RNC committeeman, told the Post that Trump's decision to turn on McDaniel was symbolic of his monumental disloyalty to others.
“She’s been kissing his butt for years,” he explained. “But loyalty is a one-way street with Donald Trump.”
