Donald Trump is threatening a third party run — again. So what else is new?
At a town hall meeting in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Trump objected to being booed at the GOP debate in Greenville on Saturday night after having accused former President George W. Bush of lying about WMDs in Iraq as well as blaming him for the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Trump ranted, “The RNC better get its act together because, you know, I signed a pledge. The pledge isn’t being honored by the RNC. I signed a pledge, but it’s a double-edged pledge. As far as I’m concerned, they’re in default on their pledge.”
Of course, Trump was referring to the pledge he signed last September in which he promised not to launch a third party bid for the White House and support the GOP nominee if he did not win the nomination. Trump signed the pledge after drawing jeers at the first GOP debate in August when he said he would not rule out a third party run. To be precise the pledge reads:
snip [blah,blah,blah]
At the time, Trump also said, “So I will be totally pledging my allegiance to the Republican Party and for the conservative principles for which it stands.” But since signing the pledge, Trump has raised the possibility of reneging on it. In November, Trump tweeted, “@WSJ reports that @GOP getting ready to treat me unfairly—big spending planned against me. That wasn’t the deal!” The following month, after the Republican backlash against Trump’s proposed Muslim immigration and travel ban, Trump tweeted, ”A new poll indicates that 68% of my supporters would vote for me if I departed the GOP & ran as an independent.” Given that Trump has already twice threatened to break his pledge, why should anyone be surprised that he would do so a third time?
Yet this time around, Trump’s threat is odd when you consider that he won New Hampshire primary by a 2:1 margin over John Kasich and remains the odds on favorite to win in South Carolina this weekend. A CBS News/YouGov poll released on Sunday (but conducted prior to the debate) gave Trump a 22-point lead over Ted Cruz (42% to 20%). Even if Trump’s anti-Bush remarks do hurt his poll standings, the anti-Trump vote is likely to be fractured. The South Carolina primary remains Trump’s to lose. If Trump wins South Carolina as decisively as he won New Hampshire, it is difficult to see how anyone could stop him from winning the Republican nomination. In which case, why would he need to bring up the pledge at all?
It would seem that winning just isn’t enough for Donald Trump. This, after all, is a man accustomed to getting his way. He wants absolute fealty whether or not he warrants it. But if Trump wants the loyalty of Republicans, then surely he must understand that a previous Republican President, even George W. Bush, is still held with great affection in some quarters. Does he honestly expect that Republicans, be they donors or not, are going to be inclined to react kindly when they hear him claim that President Bush lied about WMDs in Iraq and blame him for the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil? Trump deserved every boo and jeer he got on Saturday night.
Donald Trump signed a pledge to the Republican Party, but he claims the Republican Party made a pledge to him. The Republican Party has no more obligation to Trump than it does to any of his opponents. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and Ben Carson understand this very well. But that isn’t how Trump rolls (or for that matter how he trolls). So when Trump threatens to break his pledge he is telling Republicans, “Either nominate me as your candidate or I will run against you.” If Trump is so eager to help Hillary Clinton into the White House then Republicans ought to tell him, “Either are you with us or you are against us.”
Here's the MOST ACCURATE report on the Trump comments....
Trump again hints at third-party run: 'The RNC is in default'
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Monday again hinted at a possible third-party run, saying that the Republican National Committee is "in default" of an agreement and is not treating him fairly.
"When somebody's in default, that means the other side can do what they have to do," he said. "The RNC is in default." Trump signed a pledge last year to run as a Republican and not as an independent. He first raised the posibility of a third-party run in an exclusive interview with The Hill last summer.
“I signed a pledge but it’s a double-edge pledge, and as far as I’m concerned they’re in default of the pledge,” he said at a campaign event outside of Charleston, S.C., The Guardian reported.
During a later press conference, Trump said he was disappointed with the RNC because it stacks the room at debates "with special interests and donors."
"The RNC gave all the tickets to special interests that represented Cruz and Rubio. They had all the tickets," he said. "They walked on the stage and the place went crazy."
He said he doesn't have donors or special interests.
"I think the RNC did a very poor job," he said. "We've warned them...and they don't listen."
The RNC has "total control" over Trump's competitors, he added.
"The bottom line is the RNC is controlled by the establishment and the RNC is controlled by the special interests and the donors and that's too bad," he said.
******* "What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you'd like it to mean?" Justice Antonin Scalia 1936-2016
As I understand it Trump's problems with the RNC arise from his claim that if he would sign the pledge not to run 3rd party if the RNC would remain neutral in the primary contests. The video TM posted seems to verify my belief. The SC debate crowd showed anything but neutrality and Trump is alleging the deck was stacked. As a result Trump feels they have abrogated their part of the agreement and he's free to do whatever he wishes.
This based on your ability to process information correctly and make a summary that is accurate!
Too bad the MSM can'tg get out of their own way when it comes to reporting a story. The elite politician and their media elite partners are just making Trump look like a lion! A David among Goliaths!
******* "What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you'd like it to mean?" Justice Antonin Scalia 1936-2016