The chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, told former President Donald Trump that he has been “so great to women” during a gushing interview posted on the GOP’s YouTube channel.
“You’re such a wonderful person, you’re so great to women,” Ms McDaniel told Mr Trump. “I’m only the second woman to be RNC chair, Kellyanne [Conway] the first to run a successful race.”
Serving as Mr Trump’s campaign manager in 2016, Ms Conway became the first woman to lead a successful presidential campaign. Mary Smith was the first woman to lead the RNC, serving from 1974 to 1977.
“One thing that I will always remember is my first time coming to the Oval Office. You said ‘is this your first time?’ and I said, ‘Yes, and it’s intimidating,’ and you said, ‘Take a minute and just look around’,” Ms McDaniel recalled. “And you were always so gracious and wonderful to everybody, whether on Air Force One or in the Oval Office, but you always had the majesty of the office in your heart.”
“You never took it for granted, so thank you for that,” she added.
Mr Trump and Ms McDaniel also spoke about the former president’s relationship with Nato, Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ms McDaniel praised Mr Trump for being “tough” on Russia.
Mr Trump ranted against the “corrupt media” and claimed that “there was never anyone tougher on Russia than I was, and I think Putin, if he was being honest, would say that”.
“I don’t think the country has been at a lower point than it is right now,” Mr Trump claimed towards the end of the 23-minute interview. “We’re being pushed around.”
Ms McDaniel opened the conversation by saying that she was “a little nervous, because I watched The Apprentice, you had the number one show in America forever and ever. Any tips? Anything you want to give me?”
“Well, I just think if you are yourself, you’re going to do very well,” Mr Trump said.
He added that he believed that he had done “a few things to expose” the “corrupt media”. Mr Trump reiterated his false claims about the 2020 election, saying that the Russian invasion of Ukraine “would never have happened had the election not been rigged”.
“This would have been so easy, and by the way that includes China because China is going o be making a move soon, in my opinion, on Taiwan,” Mr Trump said. “Beijing is up for grabs if you look at it.”
The former president said he thought that China’s “move” on Taiwan would come “sooner rather than later”.
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