RNC members want to block a main challenge for Trump, but the rules can stop them: NPR



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Donald Trump, then a candidate, shortly after accepting the 2016 GOP presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Some party activists want to avoid a major challenge to Trump in 2020.

JIM WATSON / AFP / Getty Images


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JIM WATSON / AFP / Getty Images

Donald Trump, then a candidate, shortly after accepting the 2016 GOP presidential nomination at the National Republican Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Some party activists want to prevent a first challenge for Trump in 2020.

JIM WATSON / AFP / Getty Images

Some members of the Republican National Committee and the Republicans of the base support an effort to block the primary contenders to President Donald Trump, even though party insiders insist that It is too late to change the rules of the campaign for 2020.

The pressure to gather the support of the GOP people from the president comes in quickly while Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah issued a editorial in the Washington Post arguing only on issues of character. , "the president did not rise to the height of his duties". The 2012 GOP candidate also said that he would not run himself in 2020, but declined to support Trump in an interview with CNN.

In response to Romney's op-ed, Jevon Williams, a member of the Republican National Committee, called for a change in the rules of the RNC to prevent a costly primary challenge, which he deemed necessary. a "fantasy" that would weaken Trump's prospects for reelection.

"I ask for your support to take an unprecedented step: change the rules to fill the gaps in the re-nomination campaign," writes Williams in a letter to other NCR members, first reported by The Washington Examiner and obtained by NPR.

There is an open question as to whether the current rules of the RNC allow spending money to support Trump's reelection if there is a disputed primary for the nomination to the GOP presidency . This question helped to motivate those who, like Williams, hope to block a Trump challenger.

"The party can not spend money or resources in the event of a primary conflict," said a long-time RNC insider. "They stupidly did not change the rules substantially from 2016, which was an open cycle."

This effort comes as some Republicans are wondering if a presidential primary day. Republicans in South Carolina have left open the question of whether they would hold a presidential primary by 2020. The state qualifies their primary essential contest in the south of the country, but some party officials are afraid of To expose Trump to a challenger. [19659010] Trump enjoys tremendous support among GOP voters, hovering around 90% of the votes cast for Republican voters, and his support for the 2018 GOP primaries has been very powerful. This gives the impression that any major challenge at this stage is very long, but a handful of party personalities are viewed as possible adversaries.

In the lead up to a re-election campaign, Trump faces political problems with a new Democratic House that prepares dozens of investigations into the president and his administration, alongside the 39, Mueller's investigation into the 2016 election interference.