Over the past week, Donald J. Trump has burned down and rebuilt the Republican National Committee, gutting the leadership and much of the staff.

Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The Times, explains why the former president is trying to reinvent such a crucial piece of campaign apparatus so close to an election.

Guest: Shane Goldmacher (https://www.nytimes.com/by/shane-goldmacher) , a national political correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Days after allies took over the Republican National Committee, Mr. Trump’s advisers were imposing mass layoffs (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/us/politics/rnc-trump-layoffs.html) on the party.
• The former president is facing converging financial crunches as he and the Republican Party confront a shortfall (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/16/us/politics/trump-finances-money-fundraising.html) against President Biden and the Democrats.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily) . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.