John Rich: I call these people 'Judas Republicans'
Country music singer-songwriter and RNC donor John Rich says the RNC has used and abused donations from conservatives on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'
Country star John Rich slammed the Republican National Committee following a report from conservative outlet RedState about purported lavish expenditures amid an election season that turned out terribly for the Grand Old Party.
The RedState report claimed data showed the RNC spent tens of thousands at clothing retailers, and large amounts on NFL tickets and private plane travel.
An RNC spokesperson pushed back on these claims in a statement calling them a "half-truths and cherry-picked data."
"Recent ‘reporting’ on how the RNC raises and spends money for the Republican Party is a gross misrepresentation. Investing in donor relations over six years to bring in over $1.5 billion to the RNC is an incredible return on investment. With those funds the Republican Party invested hundreds of millions into state parties, tens of millions to political committees, tens of million on litigation, and more. Attacks on the RNC based on half-truths and cherry-picked data is shameful," the statement read.
An email sent to RNC members and obtained by Fox News described the RedState report as a "gross misrepresentation of how the RNC raises and spends money for the Republican Party."
"Any good business leader knows that you need to spend money to raise money. If critics want to misrepresent and push false narratives about the RNC's spending this past cycle, they should do the math before realizing it only adds up to 0.8% of the total amount the Chairwoman raised. While some are focused on tearing down the RNC staff and members who dedicate time and money on behalf of our party and country, Chairwoman McDaniel is solely focused on uniting Republicans to win in 2024," said Emma Vaughn, a spokesperson from Ronna McDaniel's re-election, in a statement to Fox News.
On "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Rich condemned the alleged expenditures after Carlson said the DNC reportedly did not have similar debits on their ledger.
The Big & Rich member said he also did not like how the RNC had been publicly saying they were fighting for Trump after the 45th president lost his election, in comparison to the actual support he felt they were showing the real estate mogul.
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John Rich brings Christmas cheer during an appearance on Greg Gutfeld's show. (Courtesy Fox News)
"That's when I realized that the RNC, right after [the 2020] election, when Trump lost the election, they were running commercials on TV that said, 'we're fighting for Trump so donate to the RNC because we're fighting for Trump'. And they knew that all the conservative base out there was fired up and would send in a lot of money."
Rich later referenced a 2021 cease-and-desist battle that cropped up between Trump and the RNC, wherein attorneys for the former president sent such notices to the RNC and other GOP committees in regard to the use of Trump in fundraising endeavors.
The singer remarked that in recent times, the term RINO – Republican in Name Only – is no longer operable because it is "defamatory to the noble rhinoceros."
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Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"I wouldn't call them that anymore. I would call them ‘Judas Republicans’ because they betrayed the trust of the people. They took their money and they never intended on using that money for what they said they were going to use it for," he claimed.
Rich said that until the RNC elects new leadership that "talks like us and supports what we support," Republicans should no longer financially support it.
"I know I won't, and I hope nobody else does either," he said.
McDaniel, a former Michigan GOP chair and niece of Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah who has long enjoyed a cooperative and friendly relationship with Trump, is facing some competition in the upcoming committee election.
Former President Donald Trump announces he is running for president for the third time at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Former California Republican Party Vice Chairwoman Harmeet Dhillon – a current RNC committeewoman from the Golden State and frequent guest on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle," – recently announced her bid to oppose McDaniel.
Earlier this month, Dhillon appeared with Carlson on his program to announce her bid, saying that Republicans are "tired of losing" and that the RNC must reshape the way it handles elections, remarking that some aspects seem like they belong in the 1990s and the aughts.
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