Mother Jones; Alex Brandon/AP

On Monday, former President Donald Trump issued a statement endorsing a slate of candidates for leadership at the Republican National Committee. Earlier this month, RNC chair Ronna McDaniel had offered to step down after the South Carolina primary amid mounting criticism from the party’s far-right flank. Among those Trump proposed taking over key party posts: His daughter-in-law Lara Trump and Chris LaCivita, his campaign co-chair and senior adviser. “Chris will manage the RNC’s day-to-day operations,” Trump said in a written statement, “so it will become a fighting machine for 2024 and use all the tools available to win for the American people.”

Despite the edict-like announcement, Trump can’t take over the RNC by fiat. All 168 members will have to vote on the leadership changes, and their first meeting isn’t until the summer, though it’s possible they could vote in the spring when they get together for a training session.

The announcement caused some outrage in certain quarters who considered it to be at best premature, given that Trump is not yet the party’s nominee. Others also cringed at a lineup that seemed to indicate Trump was finalizing the MAGA takeover of the Republican Party. His former lawyer Michael Cohen, for instance, ridiculed the idea of installing Lara Trump as the party head, describing her as “an idiot” on a podcast........

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