RNC Chair McDaniel says lack of unity led to 2022 losses: ‘We need to come together’

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel on Sunday cited poor party unity for the GOP’s lackluster performance in the 2022 midterm elections in a cycle in which Republicans were set to trounce Democrats.

“We had states where Republicans wouldn’t vote for Republican nominees, and that was a big factor in why we lost some key Senate races,” Mrs. McDaniel said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We need to come together and remember who were against in November, and that’s going to be this Biden White House that is destroying our country.”

Mrs. McDaniel went on to urge former President Donald Trump against skipping out on the Republican primary debates — as the 2024 contender has threatened.

“People are struggling, and they want to see our plan as a party as to how we’re going to win. So, I do think it’s important to get on the debate stage, but also remember, who are we against? It’s Joe Biden,” she said. “I think one of the other takeaways we took from the midterms in 2022, is that we don’t just need independents. We need every Republican, and we need to bring every Republican together.”

Mr. Trump last week repeated his threat to abandon the GOP debates set for later this year, questioning why he would subject himself to “hostile NETWORKS” with “TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors” in a post on his social media site Truth Social.

“I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them,” Mr. Trump said. “When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors asking the “questions,” why subject yourself to being libeled and abused?”