Lara Trump is redefining RNC in her father-in-law's image. Here's how she is revamping the party

Lara Trump is quickly changing the Republican National Committee (RNC) to match her father-in-law, former President Donald Trump's style, and to show her own tough and bold approach. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, she spoke about her famous family, the upcoming election, and her plans for the party. When Lara Trump and Chairman Michael Whatley took over in March, they promised big revamps. They merged the GOP with the Trump campaign into one operation. Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said this was crucial to winning in November. "By joining the two organisations together we are all working towards getting President Trump re-elected and increasing our majority in the House and the Senate," he said. Lara Trump explained that both party and campaign staff are now working together on daily tasks. Critics worry this focus on the presidential race might neglect state and local elections, but Lara Trump dismissed these concerns, saying their goal is to support candidates at all levels. “It would be very silly of me to assume that only having the presidency would achieve the goals of the Republican Party,” she said adding, “We need majorities in Congress, and that’s our goal.” Also read | Nikki Haley says she will vote for Donald Trump

Taking centre stage

Unlike some previous co-chairs, Lara Trump is very public, doing TV interviews and speaking on right-wing media to support her father-in-law's re-election. This public role hasn't been without mistakes; for example, she wrongly said on Newsmax that the RNC had filed lawsuits in “81 states.” Lara Trump admitted there is a lot to learn but stressed her political experience from working on Trump’s past campaigns. “You’d be hard pressedto find someone with as much political experience as I have in any campaign right now," she said. Lara Trump has greatly improved the RNC’s fundraising. In April, the committee raised $76 million, after $65.6 million in March, compared to just $10.6 million in February. This increase is partly due to new donation limits after Trump became the presumptive nominee. Also read | Trump deletes ‘unified Reich’ post after backlash; Biden slams former prez for using ‘Hitler’s language’ By contrast, the Democratic National Committee raised $51 million in April, down from $72 million in March. The RNC’s fundraising is important because Trump is spending campaign funds on legal fees due to various criminal charges. His organisations have spent over $76.7 million on legal fees in the last two years. Lara Trump wants Republicans to use mail-in voting, a method Trump and his supporters have criticised. She sees the benefit of making it easy for Trump supporters to vote by mail.