Only two states have voted. Donald Trump has obtained a slim majority in both states. There is a determined opponent still in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, with the next big contest to be held in her home state.
Despite all that, the Republican National Committee is moving to bulldoze its own rules and name Trump the winner without requiring the involvement of 48 states. They are seriously going to hand Trump the crown after he collected the votes of just 232,000 people split between Iowa and New Hampshire.
This comes on the same day that Trump leveled a threat to excommunicate any Republican who donated to his lone remaining opponent Nikki Haley. But it looks like that’s not going to be an issue, as Republicans are preparing a resolution that makes Trump the “presumptive 2024 presidential nominee” without even bothering with more contests.
The draft resolution goes all in on grinding its heel on the whole concept of democracy.
In the resolution obtained by The Dispatch, Republicans make it clear that they want Trump to leapfrog future contests, including the South Carolina primary where Haley is trying to rally her forces in her home state.
RESOLVED that the Republican National Committee hereby declares President Trump as our presumptive 2024 nominee for the office of President of the United States and from this moment forward moves into full general election mode welcoming supporters of all candidates as valued members of Team Trump 2024
The rules of the RNC require the party not to provide support to any candidate unless that candidate is the “nominee of the Republican Party or a candidate who is unopposed in the Republican primary.” Trump is light-years from having enough delegates to claim the nomination, with just 32 of the 1,215 required, and Haley is adamant about remaining in the race.
But when a party is going all in on autocracy, it really doesn’t matter what the old rules might be. The new rules are whatever the boss says they are.
The resolution starts by bragging that “all of the RNC-sponsored debates were robust, issues-focused and allowed all candidates to make their cases to the electorate.” It doesn’t bother to mention that Trump skipped every one of these debates and allowed the other candidates to take shots at each other while he was enjoying a nice private Fox News town hall stocked with adamant supporters and softball questions.
And when it comes to future contests, there’s no point in holding them because Trump is ahead in the polls. Really.
“Multiple polls show President Trump with an insurmountable lead in all states,” says the draft resolution. “Including a 30 point lead in South Carolina.” So it’s done.
Really, it makes you wonder why the RNC bothered with Iowa and New Hampshire. Couldn’t they have just checked the polls back in August and declared this thing over before a single vote was cast?
Anyway, Trump is ahead in the polls, and holding primaries is costing Trump money. So it’s over. From there, the proposal moves straight on to the “resolved” section, where other candidates get a nice thank you for showing up and a handy escort to the parking lot.
But hey, at least Republicans are being consistent. They hate democracy in the general election, so why pretend it matters in the primary?
No word yet on when the coronation will be held.
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