Donald Trump was secretly behind the move by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to name him the GOP’s presumptive 2024 nominee even though only two states have voted and Nikki Haley is still competing, according to CNN.
The RNC reportedly drafted a resolution which “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 RNC pulled the resolution after they faced backlash, including from Donald Trump himself.
The former president posted on his Truth Social site that, while he “greatly” appreciated the move, 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.”
But, CNN host Kaitlan Collins reported later Thursday night that Trump was secretly behind the plan all along but distanced himself when the RNC came under fire.
“A source tells me that Trump was on board with this resolution initially that his campaign had signed off on it,” Collins reported. “But then there was backlash within the party when it became public. Trump now says that for the sake of party unity, he believes that the Republican National Committee should not move forward with the draft resolution.”
