The Republican National Committee wrapped up its four-day winter meeting at The Ritz Carlton Amelia Island Friday, just across the border from Georgia, where they lost two crucial senate seats.
Ronna McDaniel was unanimously re-elected to lead the party for the next two years, vowing to win back the house and senate.
“I am pissed about losing critical elections, I am so mad and it’s OK because we’re going to take that into 2022,” McDaniel said. “I know the best is yet to come for us, we are the steady ship in the storm.”
But they’re going to need a lot more than calm seas to steer the ship out of the storm.
A storm that came in the form of an insurrection by pro-Trump loyalists at the Capitol on Sunday.
“Do you believe that what happened Wednesday has hurt the Republican Party?” asked Lorena Inclán.
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“It didn’t help, but what we have to admit is when we have warts, we have warts, and one thing about warts is they can be removed,” said Paul Reynolds, Alabama National Committeeman.
Members briefly paused for a moment of silence in honor of Capitol officer, Brian Sicknick who died Friday from injuries he received at the riot.
“We have to make sure that anything that happened this past Wednesday never happens again,” Reynolds said.
University of North Florida political science professor Dr. Michael Binder said there are now two types of Republicans, those loyal to President Donald Trump and those ready to move on.
“While the leadership in the house and the senate, by and large, have distance themselves from Trump and leaders in the party have, on the ground those voters, those activists, they haven’t changed their minds,” Binder said.
Binder said, despite having lost reelection, he expects Trump to continue to influence the GOP.
“I envision him to stick around for a long time sowing chaos and continually causing problems for the Republican Party,” Binder said.
Cox Media Group
