RNC CHAIRWOMAN RONNA MCDANIEL

2018 RNC WINTER MEETING GENERAL SESSION REMARKS

WASHINGTON, D.C.

FEBRUARY 2, 2018

REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

Hello everyone and welcome to our Winter Meeting! I am so happy you’re with us as we reflect on this incredible year. We had a few milestones since we last met, I just marked my one-year anniversary as Chairman of the RNC and also commemorated President Trump’s first year in office. We have so much to celebrate. I want to thank the RNC staff, including our Chief of Staff Richard Walters, our incredible Member Services Team, Emily Threadgill, Mariana and Callie for their work this week, our Co-Chair, fellow officers, and all of you, our Members.

I want to acknowledge three members who are attending their last meeting: Randy Evans, Susan Hutchinson and Roger Villere. On behalf of the RNC, thank you for all of your hard work. Special thanks to our speakers this week including Speaker Gingrich and KellyAnne Conway. I hope each of you enjoyed the meetings and our sessions. I would also be remiss if I did not thank my wonderful husband and kids. Finally, I want to thank President Trump and Vice President Pence for fighting for our country fearlessly and with so much passion.

Let’s think about how far we have come since President Trump was elected: Republicans delivered the biggest set of tax cuts in a generation. Three million workers have received bonuses as a result, and today, millions of Americans have more take-home pay. Unemployment is at a 17-year low, 2.4 million new jobs have been created, job-killing regulations have been cut, our military is strong and veterans are being cared for. This President is making America Great Again.

Now let’s compare that to what the Democrats accomplished this past year. They’ve worked together alright - to obstruct, to resist, and to divide this country. On Tuesday, their hatred was on full display when Congressional Democrats sat on their hands during the President’s unifying speech. They refused to stand when the President of the United States walked into the room, when he talked about the American flag, the national anthem, or lowering African American unemployment. They refused to stand for a 12-year old boy who puts flags on the graves of our veterans.

They hate this president more than they love this country.

They forced a government shut down on the American people because they refuse to work with him. Not one Democrat voted for historic tax cut legislation. Not one. In fact, Nancy Pelosi thinks that one thousand dollars in bonuses for hardworking Americans are crumbs.

Well I have news for you Nancy. We’ll remember in November. This November, let’s send them home. But it’s not going to be easy. History tells us that the party in power loses seats in the midterms. But when I look at how Democrats behaved at the State of the Union, it is clear that we have to keep our majorities in Congress.

We at the RNC are ready. Our permanent ground game has staff in 22 states across the country. They have knocked on four million doors and made eight million phone calls. They have held more than 700 Republican Leadership Initiative trainings for 7,000 fellows. To put that into context – we trained 5,000 fellows in total during last year’s presidential cycle.

Our total investment of $200 million in digital and data work over the last few years has allowed our Data team to build a warehouse of three hundred terabytes of data. If you were to store that on a DVD you would need over 63,000 DVD’s. Our Digital and Communications departments have played a huge role in our outreach to voters.

We’re connecting with grassroots in ways we never thought possible, through social media, email campaigns, and daily published products. On Tuesday, our Digital Department setup an online fundraising ticker to display the names of donors under a live stream during the President’s State of the Union, raising a combined $1.56 million dollars from over 50 thousand people.

Democrats are energized and we need to outmatch them because we know what’s at stake - the future of our country. This is at the heart of everything we do at the RNC. It is the reason we have been so successful over the past year. It is why we have engaged more voters, recruited more volunteers, and reached more communities.

We are on the frontlines of the movement you created. As President Trump said at his Inauguration, “this is your moment: it belongs to you.” We are here to drive this movement forward, and together we are creating history. America is the shining city on a hill that has been a beacon of democracy and freedom for so many people.

People like Dherek, a Missouri native who grew up in a poor neighborhood, thinking he would never have a chance at success. As he grew up, he realized Democrats were doing nothing for his African-American community. He turned to the Republican Party and found a pathway for a better future, inspiring him to become a first-time volunteer for Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016.

People like Priscilla in Texas, whose mother was told her baby would be born with physical abnormalities, but kept her anyway. Priscilla was born healthy and later became a passionate advocate for life, joining the “Hispanics for Trump” campaign near the Texas/Mexico border.

People like Ewa in Nevada, an immigrant from Poland who was so inspired by Donald Trump’s message of opportunity that she registered to vote for the first time when he announced he was running and she’s been volunteering for the Republican Party ever since.

There are millions of stories like these across the country – people from different walks of life who were deeply inspired by this President and this movement. Our movement.

The President said it best on Tuesday during his State of the Union: “This is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream…If you work hard, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in America, then you can dream anything, you can be anything, and together, we can achieve anything…We all share the same home, the same heart, the same destiny, and the same great American flag.
Together, we are rediscovering the American way. In America, we know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, are the center of the American life. Our motto is ‘In God we trust.’”

I hope you’ll join me as we keep working to keep our majorities – because our country, one nation under God, is one worth fighting for.

Thank you, God bless each of you, and God bless the United States of America.

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Republican National Committee
January 31, 2018

RNC Raises All Time Off-Year Record of $132.5 Million in 2017

More money raised than any national party committee in off-year history

WASHINGTON – Today, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced raising $11.1 million in December and $132.5 million overall in 2017.

"Our strong fundraising numbers reflect voters’ optimism and continued support as President Trump fulfills his promises to the American people," said RNC Chairwoman McDaniel. "In his first year, President Trump delivered a historic tax cut to the middle-class, slashed regulations, and grew our economy. We look forward to electing more Republican leaders to Congress who will support President Trump's winning agenda on behalf of the American people."

RNC Fundraising Fast Facts:
Receipts for December 2017: $11.1 million
Receipts for 2017: $132.5 million
Total cash on hand: $38.8 million
Debt: $0

RNC vs DNC in 2017:
RNC more than doubled the DNC: $132.5M vs. $65.9M
RNC has six times more cash on hand than the DNC
RNC has $38.8M net cash, DNC has $423K
RNC has $0 debt, DNC has $6.1M