Donald Trump COLUMBIA, Jan 26 (AP): The Republican National Committee has pulled a resolution to consider declaring Donald Trump the party's "presumptive 2024 nominee" before he formally clinches the requisite number of delegates, a person familiar with the decision said Thursday.
News of the withdrawal came shortly after Trump posted on his Truth Social site that, while he "greatly" appreciated the notion, he felt, "for the sake of PARTY UNITY, that they should NOT go forward with this plan, but that I should do it the 'Old Fashioned' way, and finish the process off AT THE BALLOT BOX."
The measure, according to a draft obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, had said it "declares President Trump as our presumptive 2024 nominee for the office of President of the United States and from this moment forward moves into full general election mode welcoming supporters of all candidates as valued members of Team Trump 2024."
The withdrawal was confirmed by a person familiar with the decision who was not authorized to publicly discuss the proposal and spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night.
If approved, the measure would have further solidified Trump's control of the party and its operation at a time when former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is still competing against Trump for the GOP nomination.
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel had earlier signaled her approval for the resolution. On Tuesday, after Haley finished second to Trump in New Hampshire, McDaniel said that while she felt the former ambassador had "run a great campaign," Republicans "need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump."
The resolution had been expected to be discussed at the RNC's winter meeting in Las Vegas next week, even though only two states have voted and the former president had nowhere near the requisite number of delegates to secure the nomination.
Haley's camp said Thursday that it wasn't up to the RNC to decide who the GOP nominee would be. "Who cares what the RNC says? We'll let millions of Republican voters across the country decide who should be our party's nominee, not a bunch of Washington insiders."
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