Ronna McDaniel says RNC 'cannot pay legal bills' for Donald Trump if he announces a 2024 bid

Republican National Committee Chairman Ronna McDaniel.Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

• Ronna McDaniel said the RNC cannot pay Donald Trump's legal bills if he announces his candidacy.

• The committee has paid over $2.3 million in legal fees for Trump, CNN reported.

• McDaniel did not say whether Trump will run for president, stating she is "only focused on 2022."

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the committee cannot continue to foot the bill for former President Donald Trump's legal costs if he announces a 2024 bid for re-election.

McDaniel made the comments to Dana Bash on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday morning after the outlet reported that the RNC has paid over $2.3 million in legal fees for Trump.

"We cannot pay legal bills for any candidate that's announced," McDaniel said. "So these are bills that came from the Letitia James lawsuit that started while he was president. It was voted on by our executive committee for our former president that this was a politically motivated investigation, and that's what it's been for."

The chairwoman added: "We cannot do in-kind contributions to any candidate. Right now, he's the former president who's being attacked from every which way with lawsuits. And he's certainly raised more into the RNC than we have spent on these bills."

The Hill reported that the RNC has paid for Trump's defense in lawsuits from New York Attorney General Letitia James investigating Trump's family for overvaluing assets and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. investigating Trump's real estate business.

When Bash asked whether Trump will announce soon and if McDaniel wants him to run, she said she did not know and was "only focused on 2022."

"My mind can't even go there. I don't even know what I'm doing for Thanksgiving right now, let alone thinking about 2024," McDaniel said.

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