Some RNC staffers did not vote for Trump in 2020, book claims

Some staffers at the Republican National Committee (RNC) did not vote for then-President Trump in the 2020 election, according to a forthcoming book.

The account was published in “Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost” by The Wall Street Journal’s Michael Bender, according to excerpts published by Fox News on Tuesday.

The book details tensions between RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and then-Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, who replaced Brad Parscale in the role in July 2020.

“By 2020, the RNC wasn’t merely an extension of the Trump campaign. (2020 campaign manager) Brad Parscale had effectively turned them into a full partner, and Ronna had become one of the president’s closest advisers. The RNC was paying for the field staff. They were covering costs for state directors who couldn’t get calls returned from campaign headquarters. Even the lease for the campaign headquarters was being paid for by the RNC,” Bender wrote, according to the excerpt.

Under Stepien, McDaniel was “often left on the outside looking in—sometimes literally,” the book alleges, detailing a meeting in June in which the RNC chairwoman had to wait an hour before being brought into the Oval Office. When Trump asked why she was so late, McDaniel reportedly said “they don’t want me sitting in the meetings with you,”

But Bender wrote that Stepien was “correct to question the loyalty and dedication of Ronna’s staff to Trump,” given that the president’s handling of COVID-19 had some staffers openly discussing not voting for Trump.

“The president’s handling of Covid and the White House’s treatment of Ronna had top staffers inside the RNC openly musing—for the first time in their lives—about not voting for the Republican nominee for president. Ultimately, some did not cast their Election Day ballot for Trump,” the book alleges.

The RNC told Fox News that the claims are “not true,” adding “there was no organization or team more dedicated to re-electing President Trump than the RNC.”

The Hill has reached out to the RNC for comment.

“Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost,” is set to be released July 13.