RNC Rallies Behind McDaniel In Historic Debate Exit

Blasted by everyone from the White House to her uncle, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Republican National Chair Ronna McDaniel maintained the solid support of her party's leadership in her months-long fight to pull presidential candidates out of national televised debates in 2024 unless major changes in their rules are adopted.

In a unanimous vote Thursday morning at its spring meeting in Memphis, the 168-member Republican National Committee voted to withdraw from the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.

The commission, which is managed by representatives of both major parties, has governed TV debates between presidential candidates since 1987.

"Today, the RNC voted to withdraw from the biased CPD, and we are going to find newer, better debate platforms to ensure that future nominees are not forced to go through the biased CPD in order to make their case to the American people," McDaniel told reporters soon after the vote.

For months, McDaniel has been voicing the complaints of her membership that debates in 2020 were held after early voting had commenced and that moderator Chris Wallace had repeatedly interrupted then-President Donald Trump in his first televised confrontation with Joe Biden.

Speaking for several RNC members during their winter meeting in Salt Lake City, in February, the RNC's co-chair, Tommy Hicks of Florida, told Newsmax: "No Republican nominee should be forced to debate the Democratic nominee and the moderator as well."

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki suggested the Republicans were "afraid" of debates, and Sen. Romney told reporters the RNC "would be nuts" to withdraw from debates.

McDaniel made it clear Thursday that it was not debates but the way they are currently run that Republicans have had enough of.

"Debates are an important part of the democratic process, and the RNC is committed to free and fair debates," she said, "The Commission on Presidential Debates is biased and has refused to enact simple and commonsense reforms to help ensure fair debates including hosting debates before voting begins and selecting moderators who have never worked for candidates on the debate stage."