Donald Trump Confirms He Will Not Run For President As An Independent
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that he pledges his allegiance to the Republican Party, and despite what he previously said, will not run for president with the Independent Party.
CNN reports that after committing to the Republican Party, the real estate mogul spoke out on his decision during the Republican Presidential Debate in Las Vegas yesterday.
When asked if he was ready to assure his supporters that he’ll stand by his decision to stick with the GOP, Trump responded, “I really am. I’ll be honest, I really am. I’ve gained great respect for the Republican leadership.”
Trump has entertained the idea of running for president independently, which worried numerous supporters who feel if their favorite Republican candidate doesn’t stay with the GOP, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will win the 2016 presidency. Not only did Trump assure his supporters that he is dedicated to staying with the Republican Party, but that he’ll also make sure to do everything he can to beat Clinton.
“I will do everything in my power to beat Hillary Clinton.”
Despite his supporters’ concerns, Trump took to social media on December 8 and claimed that even if he did run for president via a third party, more than half of his supporters would still vote for him.
A new poll indicates that 68% of my supporters would vote for me if I departed the GOP & ran as an independent. https://t.co/ztP5d2ctZl
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2015
Regardless, Yahoo Politics reports that Trump made it clear on Tuesday in the spin room following the debate that no matter what, there is “no chance” that he will leave the Republican party and run as an Independent.
“No chance. Big stuff. You got a big thing on that camera.”
Trump also took the time to praise a few of his fellow presidential Republican candidates, including Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz. Trump called Cruz a “good guy,” and although Bush has a history of blasting many of the things that Trump says, the real estate tycoon indicated that he understood the reason behind it.
“Well, I feel a little bit badly about Gov. Bush, because he’s, you know, he’s having a hard time. I mean, I understand what he’s doing. He’s got to do it. He’s at 3 and I’m at 42 [percent]. I think I’d do the same thing, but you know, he’s a good person. You know, he’s a good man. He’s a good person, and I think I would do the same thing if I were him.”
Meanwhile, Trump isn’t the only Republican presidential candidate who considered leaving the GOP. Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, echoing Trump’s sentiments that the GOP was treating them unfairly, stated that if the Republican Party planned to undermine what the voters truly wanted, then he would also consider leaving and running as an Independent.
“If this was the beginning of a plan to subvert the will of the voters and replace it with the will of the political elite, I assure you the Donald Trump will not be the only one leaving the party.”
Yet, the New York Times reports that Carson’s threat of leaving seems to pale in comparison to Trump’s threat, mainly because billionaire Trump could easily find the funding for his third-party campaign, whereas it would be difficult for Carson to do so.
Donald Trump still leads as No. 1 in the Republican presidential race, according to the most recent poll by NBC/Wall Street Journal, released on December 14. However, the same poll indicates that currently, Democratic presidential candidate Clinton is surpassing the former Celebrity Apprentice star.
[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
