Business entrepreneur and White House hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign launched FireRonna.com, a petition to unseat the Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, the Daily Caller has learned first.
The petition aims to rally “grassroots conservatives” in support of Ramaswamy’s call for McDaniel to resign, one week after the presidential candidate called for the RNC leader to step down during the third primary debate, the Daily Caller learned. During his opening statement at the third presidential debate, Ramaswamy called the Republican Party the “party of losers” under McDaniels leadership, adding that he would cede his time to the chair if she would like to resign.
“I am sick and tired of this Republican Establishment that has made us a party of losers. Where is the accountability for years of losing: 2018, 2020, 2022 and now 2023,” Ramaswamy said in a press release obtained by the Daily Caller. “On the debate stage, I called on Ronna Romney McDaniel to resign. Now, I’m asking grassroots conservatives across the nation to join me so she can feel the power of the people. It’s time to stop the culture of surrender and losing. Resign, Ronna!”
NBC’s own Lester Holt opened the third presidential debate by asking each presidential candidate why they deserved to be the Republican nominee, rather than the front-runner former President Donald Trump. Ramaswamy used his time to answer to call out McDaniel.
“Since Ronna McDaniel took over as chairwoman of the RNC in 2017, we have lost 2018, 2020, 2022 – no red wave … We got trounced last night in 2023. And I think that we have to have accountability in our party,” Ramaswamy began, adding that he would cede his time on the stage to McDaniel if she would like to resign from the RNC.
Ramaswamy also blasted the RNC’s decision to allow NBC to host the third presidential debate. The RNC chose the outlet, alongside Salem Radio News and the Republican Jewish Coalition. (RELATED: The RNC Said This Time Would Be Different, Yet The First Two Debates Have Conservatives Frustrated And Disappointed)
I’m sick and tired of this Republican Establishment that has made us a party of losers. Where is the accountability for years of losing: 2018, 2020, 2022 and now last night? I’m calling on @GOPChairwoman to resign tonight. pic.twitter.com/8hxVqWGlwL
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 9, 2023
The moderators of the evening were Holt, NBC’s own Kristen Welker as well as Salem Radio News’ Hugh Hewitt. An RNC spokesperson has previously told the Daily Caller that the RNC does not choose the moderators but the outlets hosting do.
“Think about who’s moderating this debate, this should be Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan, Elon Musk. We’d have ten times the viewership, asking questions the GOP primary voters actually care about and bringing in more people to our party. We got Kristen Welker here, you think the Democrats would actually hire Greg Gutfeld to host a Democratic debate?” Ramaswamy asked.
“The fact of the matter, and Kristen I’m gonna use this time ’cause this is actually about you and the media and the corrupt media establishment, ask you the Trump-Russia collusion hoax that you pushed on this network for years — was that real? Or was that Hillary Clinton made up disinformation? Answer the question. Go,” he continued.
McDaniel responded to Ramaswamy’s viral debate moment in an interview with CNN, saying that the presidential hopeful is just “looking for headlines.”
“Last I checked, I wasn’t running for president,” McDaniel said. “He’s at 4%, he’s looking for headlines.”
Members of the RNC have been quick to defend McDaniel and her leadership after Ramaswamy’s comments, many previously telling the Daily Caller that they found the presidential candidate’s comments to be “inappropriate” and “unfair.”
“The comments from Vivek last night were unfair. Ronna is doing an amazing job uniting our party and working to make [President] Joe Biden a one-term president. She is the exact right person to chair the committee in this moment.” Nevada GOP Chairman Michael J. McDonald said in an earlier statement provided to the Daily Caller.
“No one fights harder to get Republicans elected all over this country than Chairman McDaniel,” California GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson added in a statement to the Daily Caller. “The infrastructure she has built and implemented is the strongest in our party’s history, including early and unprecedented investments into California. She’s the leader we need to help Republicans take back the White House, flip the Senate and hold the House next year.”