Donald Trump is warning that if the Republican National Committee is unfair to him, the odds that he'll mount a third-party try for the White House will "absolutely" increase.
"The RNC has been, I think, very foolish," Trump told
The Hill in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, complaining that the party leadership has not been supportive of his campaign.
"They were always supportive when I was a contributor," the real estate mogul and presidential candidate said. "I was their fair-haired boy."
There are many people who want him to run as a third-party candidate if he does not win the GOP nomination, Trump claimed, but the decision could hinge on how he's treated by the RNC.
"I'll have to see how I'm being treated by the Republicans," Trump said. "Absolutely, if they're not fair, that would be a factor."
Just after Trump's campaign announcement statement on Mexicans created a firestorm,
The Washington Post reported that RNC Chairman Reince Priebus reached out to Trump to ask him to ease up on his "inflammatory comments," a story Trump claimed was not true.
But just a few weeks later, the RNC rebuked Trump for questioning Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain's war heroism, RNC Chief Strategist and Communications Director Sean Spicer saying that "McCain is an American hero because he served his country and sacrificed more than most can imagine. Period. There is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably."
Trump has not apologized for either statement, but rather doubled down. He also has lately been attacking Sen. Lindsey Graham, announcing the lawmaker's cellphone number publicly after the South Carolina Republican, another presidential candidate and a fervent McCain supporter, called Trump a "jackass" in two separate interviews.
Trump told The Hill that he's not liked by the GOP establishment because he's not "in the gang."
"I'm not in the group where the group does whatever it's supposed to do," he said. "I want to do what's right for the country — not what's good for special interest groups that contribute, not what's good for the lobbyists and the donors."
According to national polls, Trump is leading in the 16-candidate field, and many of the party's establishment leaders and his fellow candidates are saying he is hurting the party's brand.
There's certainly no question that Trump's presence as an independent candidate could destroy the GOP's goal of recapturing the White House.
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Washington Post-ABC News poll, conducted July 16-19 of 1,002 adults and released Monday, found that in a hypothetical three-way race, Clinton leads with 46 percent, Bush follows with 30 percent and Trump takes 20 percent among registered voters.
The poll, with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, also reveals that Trump would pull more support from Bush than from Clinton in such a three-way race.
Trump appeals to a segment of the party that is angry with Washington insiders, and readily points out the poll numbers that show him above former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Trump even admitted to being "surprised that I'm this high."
Trump isn't claiming yet that he will definitely be the nominee, telling The Hill "that would be presumptuous."
As for now, he's preparing for the Aug. 6 Fox News debate, but isn't saying what he's got up his sleeve.
"I've got a lot of knowledge having to do with government. For the debates, I'll work on that," he said. "As far as the debate is concerned, these politicians debate every night. That's all they do is talk. I don't do that. I do other things. I'm a job creator."
He did tell The Hill, though, that if elected, he would appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court, praising Justice Samuel Alito while criticizing Chief Justice John Roberts.
"Jeb Bush was the one that pushed Roberts through his brother, and Roberts gave us Obamacare," Trump said. "Roberts was a terrible choice. We wouldn't be talking about Obamacare right now if we didn't have Roberts."
He also spoke in favor of setting term limits in Congress, and also admitted he agrees with Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is running for the Democratic nomination, on trade.
"You know the funniest thing about Bernie Sanders? The one thing we agree on is trade," Trump said. "He knows the country is ripped off. And I know the country is being ripped off. The difference is that I can do something about it and he can't. He'll never be able to negotiate with China."
Trump concluded that he's enjoying his campaign, although he knows it's going to be a long haul.
"It's very hard for a very successful person to run for political office — especially for president," he told The Hill. "I get that now more than anything."
Newsmax reporter Bill Hoffmann contributed to this report.
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