7:51 p.m. ET, January 25, 2024
Trump calls on RNC not to name him presumptive nominee after allies warn of backlash, source says
From CNN's Kate Sullivan, Daniel Strauss, Kristen Holmes and Kaitlan Collins
Former President Donald Trump said Thursday the Republican National Committee should not move forward with a draft resolution circulating among members that would
formally declare Trump the Republican Party’s 2024 presumptive nominee.
Allies of the former president were worried the resolution was premature and could backfire, a source close to Trump told CNN.
The campaign had initially approved going forward with the resolution — and Trump himself was also on board until backlash began, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
What Trump said: Trump wrote on
Truth Social that, while he appreciated the sentiment, he opposed the plan for the sake of party unity, and wanted to “finish the process off AT THE BALLOT BOX.”
"I feel, 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," the post read.
Haley is fundraising off the reports: Trump's last GOP rival standing, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, is taking a familiar approach to efforts intended to drive her from the presidential race: Turn it into a fundraising opportunity.
She has asked supporters to donate money to her campaign in protest of the RNC's potential move.
“The RNC is leveraging the establishment to try and crown Trump the presumptive nominee,” Haley wrote in a new fundraising appeal. “Well I have news for them: I’m in this to win it and I’m not going anywhere.”