GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel issued a rebuke to Senator-elect Mitt Romney, her uncle, Wednesday morning after he criticized President Trump Tuesday night, days before he is sworn into office.

McDaniel said in a tweet Wednesday that Romney's criticism of the president is "disappointing and unproductive," and "feeds" into what Democrats and some in the media want. She also pinned the tweet to to the top of her Twitter feed. In his op-ed, the Utah Republican said that Trump's presidency "made a deep descent in December" and argued that the president's character is deficient.



POTUS is attacked and obstructed by the MSM media and Democrats 24/7. For an incoming Republican freshman senator to attack @realdonaldtrump as their first act feeds into what the Democrats and media want and is disappointing and unproductive. https://t.co/ArhI7Bi7bo — Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) January 2, 2019



McDaniel's comment came hours after the president tweeted his own reaction to the Utah Republican. Trump wondered whether Romney would be a second coming of Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., the outgoing senator who has consistently criticized him.

Unlike the incoming senator, McDaniel has been an ardent supporter of the president dating back to his 2016 campaign, and, as state chairwoman, helped him flip Michigan. She was tapped as GOP chairwoman to replace Reince Priebus from the outset of the administration.

McDaniel had also tried to lay low regarding the ongoing feud between Trump and Romney, which has been simmering for years. McDaniel even stopped using her full name as chairwoman — Ronna Romney McDaniel — after the president joked with her about dropping the "Romney" portion of it.