buzzfeed.com

McDaniels claims she misquoted herself on her threatening tweet demanding loyalty to Trump.

“I’m old enough to remember when Ronna Romney McDaniel spoke in a way befitting a citizen of a free republic, before Ronna McDaniel started sounding like a spokesperson for an authoritarian government,” tweeted Bill Kristol, the conservative commentator and a leading anti-Trump voice who has been encouraging a primary challenge in 2020.

McDaniel’s tweet appeared to be reconstructed from a different context, during an interview she did the evening before on Fox Business Network’s Lou Dobbs Tonight. More than 12 hours after the missive — and only after first tweeting birthday wishes to Trump — she attempted a walk-back by posting a transcript from the appearance, which she said “didn’t translate well with a 240-character limit.”

On Wednesday night and Thursday morning, RNC officials reached by BuzzFeed News declined to elaborate on the tweet or how it was posted in such a threatening context.

(more)