RNC co-chair Lara Trump attacks Hogan for calling for respect for legal process

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Lara Trump, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee and daughter-in-law of Donald Trump, slammed former Maryland governor Larry Hogan on Sunday after he’d urged Americans to “respect” the verdict in the former president’s hush money trial.

Hogan is running for a Senate seat in Maryland and represents one of the GOP’s best chances at taking back control of the chamber. Still, Lara Trump — who was recently named co-chair of the party, alongside Michael Whatley — said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Hogan “doesn’t deserve the respect” of any Republican for his comments.

On Thursday, before the jury verdict was delivered, Hogan posted on X that Americans should “respect the verdict and the legal process.”

“We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law,” Hogan said, urging the public not to “pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship.”

Lara Trump called his statement “ridiculous.”

“He doesn’t deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican Party at this point, and quite frankly, anybody in America, if that’s the way you feel,” she said.

The RNC supports the Republican Party’s campaigns and organizing. CNN host Kasie Hunt asked the RNC co-chair if her comments meant that the committee would withhold money from Hogan’s Senate campaign. Lara Trump did not answer directly.

“I’ll get back to you on all the specifics monetarily,” she said. “But what I can tell you is that, as the Republican Party co-chair, I think he should never have said something like that.”

Spokespeople for Hogan’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last week, Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign, quickly attacked Hogan for his message by saying on X: “You just ended your campaign.”

Hogan, a popular former governor in a deep-blue state who is known for his willingness to work across the aisle, needs to win over voters to succeed Sen. Ben Cardin (D) and help the GOP take control of the Senate.

The Democrats currently control the chamber by one seat, and several Senate seats are up for grabs in November. Hogan is facing off against Angela Alsobrooks, county executive of Prince George’s County, who won the Democratic primary last month.

In the interview with CNN, Lara Trump appeared to suggest that Hogan was appealing to the wrong voters by attempting to subdue a negative reaction to the verdict in the trial of the former president.

“The American people came out and in 48 hours after Donald Trump’s verdict was read, our campaign and the RNC raised $70 million in digital fundraising,” she said — referring to a spike in donations to Trump and Republicans in the verdict’s aftermath. (The fundraising figures have not been verified.)

“I think that that was a very quick, very rapid and very strong response from the American people,” Lara Trump said. “The American people are upset and they spoke out about it.”