Nicole Russell

Donald Trump’s MAGA fanbase is large, loyal, and motivated to win again after Joe Biden won in 2020 — an election many Trump fans claim was “stolen” or “rigged.”

While they were already dedicated to Trump throughout his first term, his followers went from a transactional relationship to a dedicated discipleship, if you will, after hundreds of men and women rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The riot — or unsuccessful insurrection — caused chaos, lawsuits, and investigations that landed people in jail. To this day, Trump claims he won the 2020 election and makes simultaneous, contradicting claims that he both had nothing to do with what happened Jan. 6 and also fully supported it.

Most people don’t follow the Republican Party so closely that they know what party leaders say — or even know who they are. GOP infighting isn’t particularly new or interesting. However, as it relates to Trump’s candidacy, it conveys some clues. Important revelations from former Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on NBC News are helpful in illuminating just what GOP leaders have known about Jan. 6 and how much they’ve been willing to gaslight their own base for the sake of fundraising, grassroots efforts, and power.

McDaniel had joined NBC News as a political analyst after leaving the RNC earlier this month, (though the network has since let her go following public outcry about her comments). She called the Jan. 6 riots “unacceptable” after years of propping up Trump. She said the riot did not represent the U.S or the Republican Party.

“We should not be attacking the Capitol; we should not be having violence,” McDaniel said. She explained her stance like this: “When you’re the RNC chair, you kind of take one for the whole team. Right now, I get to be a little bit more myself.”

McDaniel calls years of defending the riots and Trump’s candidacy — claiming the 2020 election was rigged or stolen — taking one for the team? Taking one for the team is giving a presentation when a colleague is sick, not leading six in 10 Republicans to believe the 2020 election result was illegitimate.

It gets worse.

While she was RNC chair in 2020, McDaniel pressured Michigan county officials not to certify the vote in a key area where Biden led. The Michigan Department of State’s office later said her claims of voter fraud in the wake of the election were without merit.

During her television appearance, McDaniel acknowledged that Biden won in 2020 “fair and square,” while she advocated for election integrity.

Of course, election integrity is something both parties (should) value. But finally admitting in 2024 that Biden won after actively enabling Trump’s massive grift and undermining trust in the election process is so irresponsible, it’s maddening.

This is gaslighting at its most severe, and the consequences cannot be overstated. Jan. 6 has been the subject of major investigations, and it occurred in the first place in large part because of this perpetuated myth that Trump was the rightful victor. Some conservative news organizations have doubled down on the idea that the election was stolen from half of the American electorate. Book deals were inked and volumes making these claims have been published. Good, honest, hard-working Americans now doubt the election process based on a lie that was proven to have been known as a lie and spread with purpose and malice.

The Republican National Committee bears significant responsibility for the blatant falsehoods and lies of omission spread following the Jan. 6 riots. Under McDaniel’s guidance, the GOP chose to participate and spread some of the most harmful myths about election integrity and Donald Trump recorded to this date.

It’s shameful that the GOP chose to lead in this way and perpetuate lies that have sowed incredible chaos and discord in the U.S. Biden is often scolded for sowing division, and he surely does. But what about Donald Trump and Republican Party leadership? Will they be held accountable? Their actions have made it impossible to trust them.