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Republican National Committee reportedly scraps naming Trump the “presumptive” nominee after he panned the idea
The Republican National Committee has pulled a resolution to consider declaring Donald Trump the party’s “presumptive 2024 nominee” before he formally clinches the requisite number of delegates, a person familiar with the decision said Thursday.
News of the withdrawal came shortly after Trump posted on his Truth Social site that, while he “greatly” appreciated the notion, he felt, “for the sake of PARTY UNITY, that they should NOT go forward with this plan, but that I should do it the ‘Old Fashioned’ way, and finish the process off AT THE BALLOT BOX.”
The measure, according to a draft obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, had said it “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 withdrawal was confirmed by a person familiar with the decision who was not authorized to publicly discuss the proposal and spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night.
If approved, the measure would have further solidified Trump’s control of the party and its operation at a time when former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is still competing against him for the GOP nomination.
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel had earlier signaled her favoring the resolution. On Tuesday, after Haley finished second to Trump in New Hampshire, McDaniel said that while she felt the former ambassador had “run a great campaign,” Republicans “need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump.”
It was expected that the resolution would be discussed at the RNC’s winter meeting in Las Vegas next week, even though only two states have voted and the former president has nowhere near the requisite number of delegates to secure the nomination.
Haley’s camp said Thursday that it wasn’t up to the RNC to decide who the GOP nominee would be.
“Who cares what the RNC says? We’ll let millions of Republican voters across the country decide who should be our party’s nominee, not a bunch of Washington insiders,” said campaign spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas.
The AP has a policy to not refer to any candidate as the “presumptive nominee” until he or she has captured the number of delegates needed to win a majority vote at the national party conventions this summer. The earliest that could happen is March.
But there were no party rules prohibiting the RNC from making such a move.
If it had been adopted, it could have given the Republican Party a jump-start on planning a general election matchup with President Biden, who has begun framing his reelection campaign as a 2020 rematch against Trump.
There was also precedent for the committee to declare a candidate the presumptive nominee before winning the 1,215 requisite delegates to clinch the nomination. Then-RNC Chair Reince Priebus did so with Trump in May 2016.
Despite losing both the Iowa and New Hampshire contests to Trump, Haley has argued that her performance — outlasting all the other Trump rivals — shows the strength of her candidacy.
Trump currently has 32 delegates to Haley’s 17. There is one delegate left to be assigned after the New Hampshire contest.
During a rally Wednesday night in her home state of South Carolina, Haley — the former governor — noted that her campaign had brought in more than $1 million since her second-place finish in New Hampshire. Trump followed up with a remark that appeared aimed at intimidating her donors.
“Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp,” Trump wrote, using the nickname he has crafted for Haley and the abbreviation for his “Make America Great Again” slogan. “We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!”
Haley’s campaign said Thursday that it raised an additional $1.2 million “after Trump’s unhinged pledge to ‘permanently bar’ any individual who contributed to Haley’s campaign.”
“Donald Trump’s threats highlight the stark choice in this election: personal vendettas or real conservative leadership,” said Haley spokesperson AnnMarie Graham-Barnes. “Trump’s scheme blew up in his face. The contributions to the Haley campaign are pouring in — proof that people are sick of the drama and are rallying behind Nikki’s vision for a strong and proud America.”
Trump’s dismissal of any Haley donors had no effect on T.J. Petrizzo, a former top Capitol Hill staffer and now lobbyist who supports Haley.
“That’s something out of a ‘Godfather’ movie. Never betray the family? Come on,” he added. “You’ve got to play this through.”
Petrizzo said he understands that some Republicans may be ready to pivot to a head-to-head contest between Trump and Biden, but he notes that there is a lot of time left before a general election.
“I’ve heard a lot of elected officials in the Republican Party, including the RNC chair, say, ‘We need to rally around a candidate.’ That ‘this is going to be our candidate.'”
“‘It was chosen by Iowa and New Hampshire, so we must go ahead and rally around Trump,'” Petrizzo said. “Well, there’s 285 days until the election. There’s plenty of time on the clock.”
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Dartmouth sorority, 2 members of fraternity face charges after student who went to party drowned
A sorority at Dartmouth College and two members of a fraternity are facing charges related to the death of a student who drowned after attending an off-campus party this summer.
Won Jang, 20, of Middletown, Delaware, had been reported missing in July after the party. State and local emergency responders searched the Connecticut River and found his body.
On Friday, police in Hanover, New Hampshire, where Dartmouth is located, announced that Alpha Phi has been charged with one count of facilitating an underage alcohol house. Two members of the Beta Alpha Omega were charged with providing alcohol to a person under 21.
The party was hosted by Alpha Phi sorority and alcohol was provided by Beta Alpha Omega. Most of those at the party were under 21. At the end of the party, police said several attendees decided to swim in the river. While at the river, a heavy rainstorm hit and most people left. Jang, whose family told authorities he could not swim, was left behind.
At the time of the incident, Dartmouth suspended the sorority and fraternity and those suspensions remain in effect. Jang was a member of Beta Alpha Omega.
“Dartmouth has long valued the contributions that Greek organizations bring to the student experience, when they are operating within their stated values and standards,” the college said in a statement. “These organizations, as well as all Dartmouth students and community members, have a responsibility to ensure Dartmouth remains a safe, respectful, equitable, and inclusive community for students, faculty, and staff.”
No one from Alpha Phi could be reached for comment.
Singer-songwriter Khalid came out as gay on social media after he was outed, according to his posts on X.
The Grammy nominee, 26, posted a rainbow flag emoji and short statement on X on Friday afternoon.
“there yall go. next topic please lol,” Khalid, whose full name is Khalid Donnel Robinson, wrote.
In a later post, Khalid said that he had been “outted,” but did not provide any other information or context.
“The world still continues to turn,” he wrote. He added that he was “not ashamed” of his sexuality, but had not publicly spoken about it because “it ain’t nobodies business.” He responded to multiple fans’ comments to say he was never “hiding” his sexual orientation.
In a final post, he said he was done discussing the topic. He also shared some of the posts on his Instagram story, thanking fans for “all of the support.”
@thegr8khalid
CBS News reached out to Khalid’s representatives for any additional comment.
Khalid released his third studio album “Sincere” in August. Throughout his career, he has earned critical acclaim and has been nominated for six Grammy Awards. He has won multiple MTV Video Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards. In 2019, he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.
