During an exclusive interview with The Hill at Trump Tower, Trump said, “It's a disgrace for the party. And Reince Priebus should be ashamed of himself. He should be ashamed of himself because he knows what's going on.”
Trump is furious with several aspects of the Republican nominating process, including how Colorado recently awarded all of its 34 delegates to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) without having a primary or a caucus. He doesn't agree that some delegates aren't bound to vote for their state or district winner at this summer's GOP convention in Cleveland.
“It should go to a vote in Colorado like other places. ... The best way to do it would be just a vote, should be a vote of the people. That's the way it should be done. The delegate situation is a very unjust way of doing things.”
Asked if he would call for Priebus to step down should he become the nominee, Trump responded, “I haven't given that any thought.”
In an emailed statement, Sean Spicer, the RNC's chief strategist and communications director, said, “Each state and territory submitted a plan on how to allocate and select their delegates last year. Those plans were made available to every campaign. Understanding the delegate selection and allocation is a basic part of the campaign.”
Pressed on whether he would file a lawsuit against the RNC, Trump said, “I don't want to think about suing yet. I'm not looking to do the lawsuits. I'm looking to have it steered right.”
Trump floated a possible lawsuit after winning Louisiana, stating the party didn't give him enough delegates. His campaign later downplayed the legal threat.
On Sunday, Trump aide Paul Manafort accused the Cruz campaign of not playing by the rules in its attempt to woo delegates. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Manafort said the Trump campaign will “file several protests” to the RNC.
Priebus on Monday defended the RNC nominating system, saying the rules haven't changed and there's “nothing mysterious” about what Colorado Republicans did. Last summer, the Colorado GOP opted to select unbound delegates to the Republican convention.
Cruz, meanwhile, says Trump is “whining.”
It is extraordinary for the Republican presidential front-runner and the head of the RNC to be at odds, especially less than 100 days before the convention begins.
Trump and Priebus have had a hot-and-cold relationship.
Last year after Trump threatened to run as a third-party candidate, Priebus convinced the celebrity businessman and other GOP rivals to sign a pledge backing the party nominee. And earlier this month, Trump and Priebus met privately at the RNC headquarters on Capitol Hill. In a tweet, Trump said it was “a very nice meeting,” adding he was “looking forward to bringing the party together...”
On Tuesday, Trump's tone was sharply different: “I would have won Colorado. It's not democracy. ... It's such a sad thing that the Republican Party has come to this.”
He added, “The Republican system is unfair, unjust, and they should create a fair system based on votes — not a system like they have now that is based on politics as usual.”
Asked whether he's talked to Priebus, Trump shrugged his shoulders and said, “Whatever happens, happens. I think the Republicans are being embarrassed. The whole country is talking about the scam that is going on, and it's politics. I mean, basically the politicians put this in so that they can pick whoever they want, but I think we're going to have a big surprise for them.”
Trump said he sees similarities on the other side of the aisle, saying the Democratic National Committee is favoring Hillary Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
“I tell you, it's unfair even from the Democrats' side. Every time I turn on the television, Bernie wins, Bernie wins — for weeks — Bernie wins, Bernie wins, Bernie wins. And then I watch the commentators and they say, 'Bernie can't win.' How do you win every single week, every single state and you can't win? You know why? Because it's a corrupt system. It's corrupt there, and it's more corrupt on the Republican side,” he said.
Original Article
Source: thehill.com/
Author: Bob Cusack
No comments:
Post a Comment