MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel needs to step down because she doesn't support strong election security.
McDaniel, the niece of Republican Senator Mitt Romney, has faced a wave of criticism since becoming chair in 2017 and being reelected to the position twice. Critics point to a reportedly dwindling RNC money chest, combined with Donald Trump supporters feeling she isn't expressing enough support for the GOP presidential nomination's front-runner.
After reports by The New York Times, CNN and CBS indicated that McDaniel is considering stepping down from her position following the party's South Carolina primary later this month, an RNC spokesperson told Newsweek that nothing has changed regarding her future.
Lindell, a Trump ally, has been one of the loudest conservative voices claiming, without evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen from the former president.
On Friday, he told Steve Bannon on his War Room podcast: "We have to secure our election platforms. I warned the RNC a year ago, I said, 'We're two years ahead of you. Now we're three years ahead of you,' and they've done nothing. I did a flash point in Colorado yesterday and that was the No. 1 topic."
Lindell continued: "We talked about Ronna McDaniel. She needs to go. The RNC needs to embrace our efforts to secure our election right now. We can't wait around until November."
Newsweek reached out to Lindell via phone and email for comment.
Reached by Newsweek for comment, the RNC sent a link to an earlier statement from RNC Communications Director Keith Schipper regarding the McDaniel rumors, which said, "Nothing has changed. This will be decided after South Carolina."
The RNC also directed Newsweek to a link showing an email sent by McDaniel to RNC members saying, in part, "I am still hard at work as RNC Chairwoman."
While Lindell said earlier this week that he has no desire to replace McDaniel if she does step down, he recommended someone the RNC should look at to guide the party moving forward.
"I am not running, as I have to finish my efforts to get this country to paper ballots hand counted!" Lindell previously told Newsweek via text message. "The RNC should pick anyone that the election platforms are their main focus! Julianne Murray (chairwoman of Delaware) would be the best pick for the RNC chair."
Last August, Lindell presented what he described as the future of election security during a two-day event in Springfield, Missouri, dubbed the Election Crime Bureau Summit.
He introduced a device estimated to detect internet access within 100 yards of polling places to assure better connectivity and accurate real-time results, calling it part of "a sophisticated network connection monitoring system designed specifically with election security in mind."
Earlier this week, after previously saying that his company was a victim of "cancel culture" because of MyPillow commercials disappearing from Fox News, the network said that Lindell hadn't paid his advertising bills.
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Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
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