Trump on Offense, Biden on Defense, Says New RNC Chair

Michael Whatley, the new chair of the Republican National Committee, says that former President Trump is "playing offense" while President Biden is on the defensive.

In an interview on "America's Newsroom" Friday, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Whatley said that former President Trump's New York trial has resulted in a major boost of small-dollar campaign donations, telling host Dana Perino that Trump is "playing offense" while President Biden is on the defensive.

"I think that what we're doing is we're opening up the map," Whatley said. "President Biden right now is playing defense all across the country. And President Trump is playing offense all across the country. We're leading in the national polls. We're leading on the issues, and we're leading on the polls in every single battleground state."

Whatley went on to downplay the Democrats' fundraising advantage heading into the November election.

"We know that the Democrats are going to have a ton of money," Whatley said. "They always have a ton of money. That is absolutely not a surprise. What we've seen, though, is that every day that President Trump has been in court, we've been getting, he's been getting $1 million or more in small-dollar donations that are coming in online."

Whatley also slammed the president for his schedule.

"He is going to bed at 4:30 in the afternoon," Whatley said. "We're already running events with Donald Trump out there before the guy even gets out of bed."

In an interview Friday with Howard Stern, Biden said he'd be "happy" to debate Trump.

"I know Joe Biden's team is going to try to shield him from Donald Trump," Whatley said. "They're going to try to keep them apart as much as possible. But I think the American people are going to see a very clear contrast between these two men."

Whatley pointed out that Trump is connecting with "everyday Americans," including on Thursday morning when he greeted hundreds of construction workers at a Manhattan job site.

"You look at the construction visit that he had yesterday while Joe Biden was still in bed," Whatley said. "These are the people that he's waking up every day and thinking about and he's fighting for, and it really is truly showing a connection."

Trump said the criminal trial is having a "reverse effect," during a visit last week to an Upper Manhattan bodega, while vowing to "straighten out New York" by working with the Democrat mayor and governor if elected to another term in the White House.

"It makes me campaign locally, and that's okay," Trump said. "We're doing better now than we've ever done, so I think it's having a reverse effect."

Trump said New York has "gotten so bad in the last three years, four years."

"And we're going to straighten New York out," Trump said. "So running for president, we're putting a big hit in New York – we could win New York."

Whatley said that Trump is "the only person who can beat Joe Biden."

"He's the only one who can connect with the American people and get our country back on track," Whatley said.