(NewsGlobal.com)- According to a recent report at ABC News, the RNC is hoping to stop Donald Trump from prematurely announcing a presidential run with the prospect of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
An anonymous RNC official told ABC News that the minute Trump formally announces his candidacy, the Republican National Committee will stop paying his legal fee since the party has a “neutrality policy” that prohibits it from taking sides in the presidential primary.
Since October, the RNC has shelled out nearly $2 million to law firms representing the former president in both personal litigation and ongoing government investigations.
But as soon as Trump announces he is running in 2024, those legal fees will dry up.
The hope is that the prospect of losing that money will help delay any Trump announcement until after the November elections, the unnamed source told ABC News.
No RNC official would speak on the record about this report.
According to its most recent FEC disclosure, from October 2021 until June 30, the RNC paid at least $1.73 million to three law firms representing Trump. In June alone, the RNC paid one law firm $50,000.
Republican donor Dan Eberhart told ABC News that the relationship between the RNC and Trump is “symbiotic.” Eberhart said the RNC needs Trump, his surrogates, and his likeness to raise money, and “Trump wants them to continue paying his bills.”
Eberhart believes neither the RNC nor Trump “is in a hurry to cut the umbilical cord.”
At the same time, Eberhart said it isn’t a secret that the RNC doesn’t want Trump announcing his candidacy until after the November midterm elections, adding that a premature announcement from Trump “could potentially destroy the advantage we have.”
He’s right about that.
Trump tends to suck all the oxygen out of the room. Announcing his 2024 campaign before voters even go to the polls in the November election would do more harm than good to Republican midterm candidates.
