Steve Bannon has criticized the Republican National Committee over recent reports of its finances coming under scrutiny.
In November, the GOP governing body reported its lowest bank balance at that point in any year since 2016, disclosures to the Federal Election Commission showed. With $9.96 million in spending money, the RNC had less than half the $21.35 million it reported in the year Donald Trump won the presidential election.
Meanwhile, Ronna McDaniel, who has served as the RNC chair since 2017, has been criticized for these funding issues as well as for the Republicans losing multiple elections since 2020, leading to calls for her to resign from her role.
Speaking to Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on The Charlie Kirk Show, on Tuesday, Bannon, formerly Donald Trump's White House chief strategist, said the Republicans were not united because of "horrible leadership" at the RNC.
He referenced a report in The New York Times on Tuesday which said that the main Democratic super PAC supporting President Biden's reelection bid, Future Forward, is planning to spend $250 million in advertising in key battleground states.
"How are we going to compete with that?" Bannon asked. He criticized Trump's GOP rival Nikki Haley for campaigning despite Trump polling ahead of her and said she was wasting GOP resources.
"We've pissed away $350 million already on a phony primary," he said.
Kirk told Bannon about reporting from Jennifer Van Laar, a journalist for the conservative outlet RedState, that said the RNC spent $70,000 on flowers last year while the Democrats spent $795 in that period for the same category.
Kirk said the reporting claimed the Democrats spent $1.6m on texting campaigns urging people to vote while Republicans spent $86,000 on the same.
He said the RNC spent $116,000 on media booking and consultants while the Democrats spent nothing for that category in the same period, and the Democrats spent $235,000 on voter file maintenance while the Republicans spent $39,000 on the same.
Newsweek was not able to verify these spending claims and has contacted the RNC via its website to comment on this story.
Bannon said the RNC needs to change. "If there's not changes coming out of the RNC in this meeting, then I think it is going to be tough," he said. "President Trump will win, but it's going to make it so tough."
He called on people to go to district attorneys and file criminal complaints against the RNC for "taking money under false pretenses."
On Tuesday, Laura Loomer, a Trump supporter and political activist, said McDaniel will face an "ambush" at the committee's annual meeting.
She told Bannon's podcast Bannon's War Room: "Ronna McDaniel is about to walk into a grass-roots ambush in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they are gathering for the RNC winter meeting starting tomorrow."
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Kate Plummer is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. politics and national affairs, and ... Read more
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