(Western Journal) Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel will require all 2024 GOP presidential contenders to sign a pledge to back the party’s nominee if they wish to participate in primary debates.
That includes former President Donald Trump, who was the first candidate to enter the 2024 race.
The GOP’s nominee in both 2016 and 2020 is now one of three candidates running. Former Republican South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy both joined the race in February.
More candidates are sure to join, and McDaniel stated Sunday they have an ultimatum to either sign a pledge to support the eventual nominee or they can not participate in the debate process.
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” McDaniel told network anchor Dana Bash, “We’re saying you’re not going to get on the debate stage unless you make this pledge.”
The pledge is almost certainly crafted with the intent to prevent Trump from considering a third-party bid, should he fail to capture the nomination.
“As RNC chair, if I said I wouldn’t support the Republican nominee, I would be removed from office,” McDaniel said.
“We haven’t put the criteria out, but I expect a pledge will be part of it. It was part of 2016,” she noted.
Trump agreed to support other candidates with a similar pledge in 2016, but he ultimately ran away with the nomination.
McDaniel said requiring candidates to support the party’s eventual nominee is a “no-brainer.”
“If you’re going to be on the Republican National Committee debate stage asking voters to support you, you should say, ‘I’m going to support the voters and who they choose as the nominee,’” she added.
