Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele has joined The Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump Republican group, as a senior adviser, the organisation announced Monday.
In a statement, Steele said that the “chair behind the Resolute Desk has always been bigger than any political party.”
The former RNC chairman continued by saying President Trump has devolved “into preying upon fears and resentments with narcissism that nurtures only chaos and confusion.”
“Leadership is needed now more than ever and I am proudly committed to resetting the course of our nation, standing once again for the future of my Party; and working with The Lincoln Project to help restore the purpose for sitting in that chair,” he said.
Rick Wilson, a co-founder of the project, welcomed Steele’s membership in a statement and called him a “singularly insightful and effective political leader.”
“Many principled Republicans have rejected Trump and Trumpism, but few with such a remarkable track record of electoral success,” he said.
Steele was the first African American elected to statewide office in Maryland, where he served as lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2007.
He also was the first African American chairman of the RNC between 2009 and 2011. During the 2010 elections, the Republican Party regained 63 House seats and six Senate seats and saw its highest number of state legislative wins since 1928.
Steele joined The Lincoln Project a day after co-founder George Conway announced he was withdrawing from the group to “devote more time to family matters.”
His wife, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, also said on Sunday that she would be leaving the White House at the end of the month after their teenage daughter posted a series of tweets and said she was taking a “mental health break from social media.”
The Lincoln Project, encompassed of anti-Trump Republicans, has endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden for president against Trump and launched several ads slamming the current president and his allies.—thehill.com
