{"id":1030397,"date":"2024-03-29T17:22:26","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T17:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1030397"},"modified":"2024-05-10T16:49:12","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T16:49:12","slug":"trumps-crooks-cranks-and-convicts-trumps-handpicked-rnc-chair-michael-whatley-is-an-election-denying-maga-extremist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-crooks-cranks-and-convicts-trumps-handpicked-rnc-chair-michael-whatley-is-an-election-denying-maga-extremist\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Crooks, Cranks, and Convicts: Trump\u2019s Handpicked RNC Chair Michael Whatley Is an Election Denying MAGA Extremist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This week, we\u2019re highlighting some of the crooks, cranks, and convicts that make up Donald Trump\u2019s MAGA GOP. As Trump-installed RNC chair Michael Whatley makes election denial a litmus test in the Republican Party, <\/em>DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDonald Trump hand picked Michael Whatley to take over the RNC because he parroted Trump\u2019s baseless lies about the 2020 election, and Whatley is returning the favor by making election denialism a key litmus test to join the GOP. Putting an election denying extremist like Whatley in charge of the RNC makes it clear that the future of our democracy is on the ballot in this election \u2013 and the American people will once again reject Trump and his MAGA allies this November.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s be clear: Michael Whatley was backed by Donald Trump to take over the RNC because of his history of election denial. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cRNC staffers and new hires asked whether they believe the 2020 election was stolen\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cThose seeking employment at the Republican National Committee after a Donald Trump-backed purge of the committee this month have been asked in job interviews if they believe the 2020 election was stolen, according to people familiar with the interviews, making the false claim a litmus test of sorts for hiring.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cTrump\u2019s Man at the R.N.C. Will Face Pressure to Satisfy His Election Lies\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Magazine<\/a>: \u201cTrump Taps Election Deniers Lara Trump, Michael Whatley to Lead RNC\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Associated Press<\/a>: \u201cIn pushing Michael Whatley as the next leader of the Republican National Committee, Donald Trump zeroed in on the North Carolina GOP chairman\u2019s dedication to \u2018election integrity,\u2019 baselessly suggesting he would ensure the 2024 race \u2018can\u2019t be stolen.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatley is a dangerous election denier who parroted Trump\u2019s baseless lies about the 2020 election.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cMr. Trump likes Mr. Whatley for one overwhelming reason, according to people who have discussed him with the former president: He is \u2018a stop the steal guy,\u2019<\/strong> as one of the people described him. He endorses Mr. Trump\u2019s false claims about mass voter fraud \u2026 Mr. Whatley has baselessly claimed that election security efforts from Republicans in North Carolina stopped Democrats from cheating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cLikely frontrunner for RNC chair parroted Trump\u2019s 2020 election lies\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMichael Whatley, the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, shared false claims that Republican observers were prevented from accessing polling locations and repeatedly said Democratic cities in swing states were engaged in \u2018massive fraud.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis elevation to RNC chair could give Trump a loyalist more willing to devote resources to pursue future voter fraud claims in court should they arise.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Regardless of how these lawsuits come out around the country with the presidential race we do know that there was massive fraud that took place,\u2019 Whatley said in one late November 2020 interview on local North Carolina radio. \u2018We know that it took place in places like Milwaukee and Detroit and Philadelphia.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raleigh News & Observer<\/a>: \u201cWhatley has frequently repeated Trump\u2019s false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vice<\/a>: \u201cNorth Carolina Republican chair Michael Whatley falsely claimed in February that \u2018we certainly saw evidence of voting irregularities, of election counting irregularities in a number of places around the country,\u2019 and invented the claim that the reason Trump won North Carolina was his state party\u2019s vigilance against Democrats\u2019 attempts to cheat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatley has failed to condemn a state House GOP candidate with ties to a neo-Nazi organization.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raleigh News & Observer<\/a>: \u201cNC GOP chair stays quiet about candidate\u2019s Nazi ties after failed effort at removal from ballot\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis year, however, the state GOP, led by Chair Michael Whatley, has remained silent on a candidate with ties to a neo-Nazi organization.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJoseph Gibson III, a Rockingham County podcaster with past felony convictions, is running for a state House seat. \u2026 After Gibson was approved to be on the ballot, Whatley \u2014 who is now running to be chair of the Republican National Committee with former President Donald Trump\u2019s support \u2014 did not publicly condemn his candidacy.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Anti-Defamation League found that Gibson had ties to the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement and referred to him as a \u2018white supremacist and anti-government extremist.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe ADL\u2019s report said Gibson participated in livestream events hosted by the NSM and in one instance messaged the channel saying \u201888,\u2019 a dog whistle used by white supremacists to mean \u2018Heil Hitler.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s inner circle is filled with election deniers, conspiracy theorists, and convicted felons. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axios<\/a>: \u201cTrump eyes convicts and conspiracists for 2024 reunion\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSidelined characters from former President Trump’s past campaigns \u2014 \u2018crazies,\u2019 some of his top advisers call them \u2014 are reattaching themselves to his inner circle now that he’s locked up the Republican nomination. \u2026 ex-advisers, conspiracy theorists and convicted felons are now knocking on the campaign’s door \u2014 and some are getting in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cPaul Manafort, a top adviser to Donald J. Trump\u2019s 2016 campaign who was pardoned by the former president at the end of his White House term, is in discussions to return to help with the Republican National Convention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMr. Manafort was found guilty in late August 2018 of a range of financial crimes, including tax and bank fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn September 2018, Mr. Manafort pleaded guilty to additional charges brought by Mr. Mueller and agreed to cooperate. But as the case proceeded, Mr. Mueller said that Mr. Manafort had not been truthful in his cooperation, breaching that plea deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cFormer president Donald Trump is preparing to bring back into his campaign fold a man convicted of multiple crimes and whom a bipartisan Senate report labeled a \u2018grave counterintelligence threat\u2019 because of his ties to a Russian spy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guardian<\/a>: \u201cHeadache for campaign team as Trump gets the band back together\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cFormer President Donald J. Trump recently told aides to hire Laura Loomer, a far-right and anti-Muslim activist with a history of expressing bigoted views, for a campaign role, according to four people familiar with the plans. Mr. Trump met with Ms. Loomer recently and directed advisers to give her a role in support of his candidacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolling Stone<\/a>: \u201cThey Helped Trump Plan a Coup. He Wants Them Back for a Second Term\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hill<\/a>: \u201cTrump says he\u2019ll bring back Michael Flynn if he wins in 2024: \u2018He\u2019s some man\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cTrump hosted Holocaust denier at Mar-a-Lago estate during visit with Kanye West, a week after announcing 2024 run\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week, we\u2019re highlighting some of the crooks, cranks, and convicts that make up Donald Trump\u2019s MAGA GOP. As Trump-installed RNC chair Michael Whatley makes election denial a litmus test in the Republican Party, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:  \u201cDonald Trump hand picked Michael Whatley to take over the RNC […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1030397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrump\u2019s Crooks, Cranks, and Convicts: Trump\u2019s Handpicked RNC Chair Michael Whatley Is an Election Denying MAGA Extremist - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-crooks-cranks-and-convicts-trumps-handpicked-rnc-chair-michael-whatley-is-an-election-denying-maga-extremist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-29T17:22:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-10T16:49:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-crooks-cranks-and-convicts-trumps-handpicked-rnc-chair-michael-whatley-is-an-election-denying-maga-extremist\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-crooks-cranks-and-convicts-trumps-handpicked-rnc-chair-michael-whatley-is-an-election-denying-maga-extremist\/\",\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s Crooks, Cranks, and Convicts: Trump\u2019s Handpicked RNC Chair Michael Whatley Is an Election Denying MAGA Extremist - 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