Source: Politics<\/p>\n
In the days immediately following the Jan. 6 riots, the Republican National Committee went dark. <\/p>\n
Its fundraising email account did not send a single message as the prospect sank in that the president it had long trumpeted \u2014 Donald Trump \u2014 was a pariah for inciting the rioters who ransacked the Capitol.<\/p>\n
Six days later, the emails resumed, but with notable caution. A Jan. 12 message from RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel conceded something Trump refused to: \u201cI know the Presidential Election did not turn out the way we wanted,\u201d it read. <\/p>\n
If the committee\u2019s intent was to leave the impression that it was moving on from Trump, it was short-lived. Ten days later, the RNC sent another fundraising email, titled \u201cThank you, President Trump.\u201d Over the subsequent days, the account sent 15 emails decrying Trump\u2019s impeachment for instigating those riots. From there, the embrace only tightened. All told, since resuming its email fundraising, the RNC account has sent 97 emails mentioning Trump, according to a Politico review \u2014 touting everything from his potential rallies, to his social media ventures, to his upcoming birthday. The messages add up to roughly 40 percent of all the email fundraising traffic from their campaigns account. <\/p>\n
The RNC\u2019s fundraising emails are just one of several data points that affirm the continued force of Trump\u2019s gravitational pull over the entirety of the party. <\/p>\n
Fundraisers and operatives, some of whom are no fans of the former president, said GOP institutions have become increasingly reliant on Trump to help generate enthusiasm at the grassroots level, even after he left office and as he continues to question the legitimacy of the 2020 election. And though Trump\u2019s refusal to concede he lost a fair election has contributed to a splintering in the party, his capacity to drive online donations has all but determined how the main party committees come down on that split. <\/p>\n
Money, after all, is king. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was this pregnant pause around the impeachment and Jan. 6 riot, that was ‘Trump was toxic and Trump doesn\u2019t want us to use his name.’ But we\u2019ve now reverted back to the past five years, where Trump is the biggest name in Republican politics. He\u2019s the best name at bringing in money and we need to lean into that,\u201d said GOP fundraiser Dan Eberhart. <\/p>\n
\u201c[The party] has abandoned this idea of a post-Trump world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The RNC emails were not all about raising money. Some of them were about increasing engagement. And while Trump features prominently in them, he notably has not been listed as a signatory on any of them (though occasionally an email has been addressed from a non-individual, like \u201cTrump Rally Tracker\u201d). Instead, the committee has experimented with a number of different lawmakers at different moments. <\/p>\n
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) was listed as the sender on two emails around the time he delivered the rebuttal to President Joe Biden\u2019s address to a joint session of Congress, while Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has signed seven emails around the promotion of his new book. But even on those occasions, Trump looms. In March, the RNC sent out an email under Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott\u2019s name advertising the chance to meet \u2014 not with Scott, but with Trump.<\/p>\n
A Republican official noted that the RNC\u2019s efforts to send emails from people not named Donald Trump have been successful overall. But sources close to the RNC say the party also recognizes the power the former president has when it comes to bringing in small dollar donors, and that it has no plans to distance themselves from him as the former president and de facto leader of the party.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe party raises money in different ways,\u201d said one top Republican fundraiser. \u201cWhen you\u2019re talking about different email, Facebook, small donors, building up that loyalty at the small-dollar level, President Trump is so much more potent and powerful than all the other names of the party combined \u2014 including Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fundraiser went on to argue that the major GOP donor class was still skeptical of Trump. But others say that, too, is becoming less clear. Another top Republican fundraiser, who declined to speak on the record, said angst over Biden\u2019s early tenure had persuaded some of the party\u2019s money men to rethink Trump. <\/p>\n
\u201cThose donors who were wary of Trump have been coming up saying they\u2019re not happy with current leadership,\u201d said the Florida-based fundraiser. \u201cHe feels reenergized by that and the enthusiasm he\u2019s getting. Could have gone either way.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a very brief period of time, it wasn\u2019t clear that the relationship between the party\u2019s institutions and Trump would survive. At the end of February, Trump called on conservatives to financially back his leadership political action committee, Save America, instead of the GOP entities. Days later, he sent a \u201ccease and desist\u201d letter to the RNC demanding that they not use his \u201cname, image, and\/or likeness in all fundraising, persuasion, and\/or issue speech.\u201d <\/p>\n