RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel Demands Pelosi Condemn Joaquin Castro for Shaming Trump Donors

President Donald Trump listens as Chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDani
AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
Hannah Knudsen

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is calling on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to condemn Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) for attempting to publicly shame donors of the president’s reelection campaign by posting their names and employers on Twitter.

Castro posted the names and employers of 44 San Antonio residents who contributed the maximum amount to the president’s reelection campaign to his unverified Twitter account, @Castro4Congress, Tuesday.

“Sad to see so many San Antonians as 2019 maximum donors to Donald Trump,” Castro wrote, accusing the named donors of “fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as ‘invaders.’”

While it is true that the information is publicly available, critics fear Castro, a U.S. representative and chair of his brother’s presidential campaign, is setting a dangerous precedent by specifically drawing attention to people within his own community and accusing them of aiding white supremacy based on the false narrative that President Trump embraces racism and white supremacy. Trump denounced both as “sinister ideologies” Monday.

RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is calling for Democrat leadership – Pelosi, specifically – to condemn Castro’s move.

“Joaquin Castro is shamelessly defending the ‘target list’ of @realDonaldTrump’s  supporters that he tweeted” she wrote Wednesday. 

“Not only is Castro a sitting Dem Congressman, he’s the chair of Congressional Hispanic Caucus. It’s dangerous, reckless and Nancy Pelosi needs to condemn it,” she added:

Castro has not backed down or apologized for attempting to shame constituents within his own community.

He said it was not his “intention” to encourage harassment. Rather, he hoped his action would encourage donors to “think twice about supporting a guy who is fueling hate in this country,” echoing what he told Morning Joe.

“When you make a political contribution, especially to a federal candidate, that’s a public record,” Castro said on Morning Joe. “And so that graphic lists people’s names, and many of them are business owners, so they actually own those companies.

“These are prominent donors, most of them public figures or many of them public figures,” he continued. “But their money is being taken and used to fuel these hateful ads, and it has put millions of people in this country in fear”:

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