Trump takes back pledge to support GOP nominee

Politico ^

[springwater13]

Donald Trump has rescinded his pledge to support the Republican nominee for president.

Asked by moderator Anderson Cooper if he stood by the earlier pledge, Trump said: "No, I don't."

"We'll see who it is," he said during the CNN town hall.

He said he had been treated "unfairly" by the Republican National Committee and the GOP establishment. He said he was unsure whether the Republican establishment was plotting to take the nomination away from him during the convention in Cleveland.

He also said he didn't need Cruz to promise to support him should Trump win the nomination.

"I’m not asking for his support," Trump said.

"I don't want his support, I don't need his support, I want him to be comfortable," Trump said, taunting Cruz for dancing around the issue of whether he would support Trump if Trump were the nominee.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/trump-takes-back-pledge-to-support-gop-nominee-221363#ixzz44LkF7dF4 Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

[castlegreyskull]

I don’t think Trump is the most honorable person I ever seen. However, in this matter I don’t see why he needs to honor a pledge. It is a contract. If it is broken, then contract is null and void. I would almost say that the GOP went into the contract with bad faith. They treated him badly from the beginning. At first I dismissed it as simple politics.

If this goes to a brokered convention, because they tinkered with the rules, then the GOP will most certainly will lose badly in November.

Kasich staying in the primary is bad faith. In 2012 they forced candidates out that still had a viable path to nomination to “avoid damaging the front runner.” Kasich has no viable path and stayed in there for the sole reason to deny Trump Ohio. I don’t consider that treating Trump fairly. Again it was designed to force a brokered convention which Trump would lose, due to tinkering with the rules. Forcing brokered conventions never happened before, Why now? A different standard? I wouldn’t call that fair.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

Now in this case you’re probably right, Trump surrounds himself with winners, not little petty effeminate boys.

Great! So you'll have no complaints, then, if those candidates and their supporters choose not to burden Trump with their support.

Here's a tip, though -- bravado sucks when the votes are counted.

[driftdiver]

This is the guy who says he’s a “deal maker” and can “get things done” and can bring the Congress together.

He can’t even get his own party to support him. Yes the GOP is controlled by the establishment. To be a successful President and do half of what he says he will do, Trump would need to win these people over. Something he’s proven himself incapable of doing

Unless he plans on just using his Executive power to do everything.

[mrpotatohead]

I have no idea what you are talking about. I am not a republican. The party left me.

[mrpotatohead]

There is no doubt that the GOPe is trying to take down both Trump and Cruz. I’m very disappointed in the party, they are really showing their colors this year.

[mrpotatohead]

Trump basically had the nomination won after his first few wins. He is his own worst enemy at this point. Instead of hearing this “well he started it” crap all of the time, why not just take the high road and just ignore Cruz and ACT PRESIDENTIAL! Instead he acts like a 2 yr old.

I actually liked Trump until all of his whining and mouthing off. It’s a YUGE turn off.

[mrpotatohead]

Mitt refused to confront any POLICY differences with Obama....McCain....well...he was just an idiot.

I still say Trump is his own worst enemy. He gave a great speech at that Jewish summit....I was in hopes he’d start acting with some dignity... Oh well...that lasted a few minutes, then back in the gutter. Guess that’s where he tends to stay.

[VanDeKoik]

I’ve yet to hear from his sycophants how Cruz plans on winning states where he came in third.

Just shark, shark, and more shark.

And some cocky assumption that the media is on their team because they are playing soft with him today.

[Bryanw92]

>>Just remember this when the votes are counted in November if Trump is the nominee. You deliberately chose an “us against the world” strategy, and you’ll reap the results.

We will all reap the results.

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

The “plan” is coming together.

Bill Clinton never won a majority of the vote. He had Ross Perot (a genuine man, if deluded) to suck votes from the Republicans. Now Hillary is running, and she wants the same safety-net.

So someone (who knows who... but I’ll bet that they can be traced back to a Clinton) goes to Donald Trump, who has been a moderate (at best) all of his life and says, “Donald, you need to get in to this race as a protest candidate. Not only will you show everyone that you could do it, it’ll be great for your brand!”

So he gets in, but the wizards of smart in both parties underestimated two things: one, the level of outrage among the rank and file in the Republican party, and two, Trump’s ego. Once he was the front-runner, there was no way Donald was going to bow out or be satisfied with just being a protest candidate. So now he’s in it to win, and Hillary gets nervous.

But, the GOPe is so afraid of him, they’re going to try to use various tactics to deny him the nomination. So then he denounces the party and runs 3rd party (or a write-in campaign), or his voters just stay home. And Hillary gets the win, just as was always planned...

[Bryanw92]

>>I still say Trump is his own worst enemy. He gave a great speech at that Jewish summit....I was in hopes he’d start acting with some dignity... Oh well...that lasted a few minutes, then back in the gutter. Guess that’s where he tends to stay.

I too was hoping that the primary would get civil once the crowd was thinned out a bit. But do you really expect people to give up on the candidate that carries the message they want to hear just because he is mean to those who do not carry that message? Especially when he is in the lead?

America has become a very angry and mean nation. Just go out and drive around a bit. Try sitting at a light for 2 seconds after it turns green if you want to see just how angry your fellow citizens are. No one offers any grace to anyone anymore. Trump is a symptom of our problem. He isn’t the source.

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

The 11th Commandment was created in a time when a Republican and a Democrat were two very different critters.

This right here shows that you don't know what you are talking about. It was made in a time when Bob Dole was "the tax collector for the welfare state" and Reagan was saddled with the moderate GHW Bush to placate the big government Rockefeller Republicans, whose only difference with the Democrats was how communist they wanted the Western world to be. The GOPe has been around for almost three-quarters of a century. Reagan was a great president because he could rally the people (both conservatives, moderates, Republicans, blue-dog Democrats) behind his ideas and policies. He didn't write off anyone. It was the cause of a few of his mistakes, but also the vast majority of his successes...

[Bryanw92]

>>This right here shows that you don’t know what you are talking about.

Read my whole post. You are talking about the reality of the UniParty. I was talking about the facade that the GOP put up for the voters. It has always been to keep us thinking that they were the enemies of Progressivism and it worked for almost all until a few years ago. Some of us figured it out in the 90s but we were called the Tinfoil Hat Brigade.

[QuigleyDU]

Great! So you’ll have no complaints, then, if those candidates and their supporters choose not to burden Trump with their support.

Here’s a tip, though — bravado sucks when the votes are counted.
==

Reality, just for for.

OF course the’re not gonna support Trump and the base, the’re GoPe and quite frankly haven’t been on our team for quite a while, and I’m including Cruz with the lot.

Wakeup!

[Bishop_Malachi]

“I agree...it’s all gotten out of control on all sides.”

It needs to get outta control because as it stands neither party cares about us. The Republican Party liked us when they had our votes, but when we demanded that they actually represent us...they took offense. The leadership AND the party as whole richly deserves this “bloodbath”.

[af_vet_1981]

Treated ‘unfairly’? That’s the understatement of the century.

Cruz' fault; his lust for political power is dooming the country.

[jokemoke]

Only 31% care...

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2016/only_31_of_gop_voters_care_if_failed_hopefuls_support_nominee?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyNewsletter

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

OF course the’re not gonna support Trump and the base, the’re GoPe and quite frankly haven’t been on our team for quite a while, and I’m including Cruz with the lot.

Wakeup!

You can't possibly "wakeup" enough people to make up for all those you are alienating.

[Democratic-Republican]

The problem is that he was swinging at other Republicans - right from the start as you noted. Whether it is only "wussies" who reacted negatively to that is irrelevant, because a general election vote by a wussy counts the same as anyone else's.

Making committed enemies out of people you will later need as allies is stupid, and is part of the reason for the 11th Commandment. So when Trump loses in November, he'll have nobody to blame but himself.

No, this does not compute. The case could easily be made that attacking (R)epublicans buys you votes in the general election, which is what you were specifically talking about.

The calculation that 'he will need them later' is pardon the pun, trumped by the fact that you need to get elected President *before* you get to worry about who you are dealing with. Thanks to the warped electoral map and demographics, any (D)ummycrat can be elected. Almost no (R) can be elected President now. The myth of nominating the perfect dude is over. You must nominate someone who can win ( which ironically is what Bill Buckley actually said and what Rush and Levin completely ignore ).

Beating up (R)epublicans? In the primaries it is a calculated risk. But likely a positive risk. Trump is running a variation of Nixon's apocryphal: "Run to the base in the primary, run to the middle in the general". It is not a bad gamble in my estimation because the most votes are on the other side.

It pains people to accept this fact, but (R) is a minority and (C) is a minority of that. The most valuable votes are direct (D)ummy crossovers, those who voted for (D)umbo last time. Any new or existing vote gets you an (R)+1, but a direct crossover gets you (D)-1 and (R)+1 for net 2. They are twice as valuable as me or you. And this is exactly how you can win the swing states. Trump is showing great strength so far right where he needs to, FL, OH, PA, MI, NC, and WI, is coming up fast. ( Look for USA Today article 3/29 describing movement in PA for Trump ).

Attacking (R)epublicans ( c'mon, it is such a target rich environment! ) gets (D)emocrats to crossover. They will never cross over for a (R) party loyalist. Coupled with his donations to both parties ( constantly decried by Cruzers and other pubbies ) means he gets to run as a legitimate non-partisan, the exact opposite of a bible thumping "conservative" Cruz who they despise.

Even on the merits your comment about 11th Commandment attacking pubbies is wrong IMHO. We have almost NONE who deserve this favorable treatment. I mean why? Because they have an (R) after their name? How much more treachery does one have to take to forget the party?

I suggest everyone call their local election board ASAP and get familiar with the write-in process, just in case the (R)epublicrat snakes steal the nomination. They cannot be rewarded with your votes who so many have died to protect.

Country before Party

[Lazamataz]

The GOPe is coming up with ‘ways’, via too clever-by-half ‘rules changes’, to take from Trump the delegates he won fair and square.

I do not blame Trump one little bit.