Corey Stewart argued that Donald Trump had helped the RNC raise most of its money and said his protest was intended to persuade the RNC to “give the money back.” | AP Photo Trump's Virginia chair fired over RNC protest

Corey Stewart, Donald Trump’s Virginia campaign chairman, was fired Monday afternoon for organizing a public protest of the Republican National Committee, which he argued had been insufficiently supportive of Trump’s candidacy.

“They threatened to fire me if I didn’t shut down this rally,” Stewart said in a phone interview. “They had me fired, it’s really that simple.”


He said it was close Trump adviser David Bossie, a Maryland member of the RNC, who demanded his ouster. Bossie wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Stewart described his ouster as “unsurprising” because the campaign and RNC are attempting to present a united front at a time of turmoil for the campaign. He said the protest, which he organized with Virginia Women for Trump, a grass-roots group, was an attempt to send a message of defiance to the GOP establishment and encouragement to Trump, who he still supports.

Hours before his firing, just as the protest at RNC headquarters began, Stewart accused the RNC of withholding resources from Trump’s Virginia operation and using the weekend leak of Trump’s sexually aggressive comments about women as a pretense for pulling the plug.

“There are a lot of women here today,” he said. “Of course they’re not happy with Trump’s comments 10 years ago. But they also don’t want to cede the country to a liberal Democrats for four years because Trump made crude comments 10 years ago. The establishment doesn’t want to relinquish control over the party.”

Stewart argued that Trump had helped the RNC raise most of its money this cycle as part of their joint fundraising agreement. He said his protest was intended to persuade the RNC to “give the money back.”

RNC officials have disputed any suggestion that the committee is shifting resources away from Trump and toward down-ballot candidates. A spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

Stewart pointed to a Wall Street Journal report over the weekend, suggesting that the RNC was beginning to prioritize turnout among split-ticket voters — those who would support Clinton for president but vote Republican in down-ballot races.

“What’s really disgusting about that is Trump raised most of that money,” he said. “The Journal report just confirmed what we had been hearing through word of mouth. And we haven’t seen any resources in Virginia. We can’t get any signs. We’ve had Republican units around the state buying their own signs.”

The rally drew about 50 to 70 protesters for an hour outside the RNC’s Capitol Hill offices. Attendees suggested they were there primarily to protest House Speaker Paul Ryan’s decision to focus on electing a Republican Congress rather than supporting or defending Trump. His decision came after Trump’s campaign was rocked by a leaked 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump bragged he could use his celebrity to grope and kiss women with impunity.

But the pro-Trump protesters said the issue was a sideshow.

"It doesn't matter because it's a distraction,” said Alice Butler-Short, the founder of Virginia Women for Trump. “Our country is in trouble, I think you know that and there are real issues to deal with.”

Asked about the language in the leaked tape, Butler-Short added, "You know, I'm sure my husband has never spoken in such terms either, but how is that going to harm the country? No. So he said some things that were inappropriate, he apologized, let's move on.”

