| CNN | - |
New
York (CNN) Donald Trump has signed the pledge. The Republican
presidential front-runner met privately with Republican National
Committee Chairman Reince Priebus Thursday afternoon, and soon after,
came out to the lobby of Trump Tower to ...
Donald Trump signs RNC loyalty pledge
Story highlights
- The pledge means Trump has promised to not run a third-party candidacy
- It also means Trump would support the eventual GOP nominee, whoever that may be
New York (CNN)Donald Trump has signed the pledge.
The
Republican presidential front-runner met privately with Republican
National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus Thursday afternoon, and soon
after, came out to the lobby of Trump Tower to declare that he has
signed a loyalty pledge. This means Trump has promised to support the
party's eventual nominee -- whoever that may be -- and that he will not
run as a third-party candidate.
"The
best way for the Republicans to win is if I win the nomination and go
directly against whoever they happen to put up. And for that reason, I
have signed the pledge," Trump said, holding up the paper. "So I will be
totally pledging my allegiance to the Republican Party and for the
conservative principles for which it stands."
He added: "We will go out and fight hard, and we will win."
If
Trump's official declaration of allegiance to the party serves to calm
the nerves of establishment Republicans -- at least for now -- it could
also invite backlash from some of the bombastic candidate's die-hard
supporters.
Trump has propelled
himself to the top of the polls by casting himself as an
anti-establishment, outsider candidate, railing against career
politicians and the Washington political class.
Signing an RNC pledge complicates that image.
Katrina
Pierson, a spokeswoman for the Tea Party Leadership Fund and a Trump
defender, told CNN she personally does not condone the pledge.
"The
GOP has not been loyal to members of its own party during previous
election cycles," PIerson said. "I can't see any reason why he would
give up that leverage considering a lot of his supporters like the idea
that he's running against the establishment."
Thursday's
15-minute sit-down with Priebus comes amid unease about whether the
billionaire businessman would rebuff the party and seek the White House
as an independent. Soon after Trump announced his candidacy, Priebus
asked the real estate magnate to tone down his fiery rhetoric on
immigration, as establishment Republicans grew increasingly worried that
Trump was angering the Hispanic community.
Trump
explained Thursday that he came to the decision to sign the pledge
because the Republican Party in recent months has been "extremely fair"
to him.
"The RNC has been absolutely
terrific over the last two month period and as you know, that's what
I've wanted," Trump said. "I don't want to be treated any differently."
Asked what he got in return for signing the paper, Trump responded: "assurance that I will be treated fairly."
RNC
officials began circulating a pledge to various GOP presidential
campaigns this week, measuring up how much appetite there is in the
field to commit to supporting the eventual nominee.
"I,
________, affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination
for President of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican
presidential nominee regardless of who it is," it reads.
The
pledge continues: "I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an
independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the
nomination for president of any other party."
Advisers
to the candidate have said all along that Trump was never seriously
interested in launching an independent run, which is an arduous -- and
costly -- process.
The pledge has not
only put pressure on Trump to commit to the party, it's also forcing
some of his rivals to promise to support Trump if he were to clinch the
GOP nomination.
It's a particularly
uncomfortable position for a candidate like Jeb Bush, who in recent
weeks has publicly clashed with Trump. The two men have released attack
videos on social media, and openly criticized one another on the trail.
On
ABC's "Good Morning America" Thursday morning, Bush lashed out at
Trump, saying, "I think Donald Trump is trying to insult his way to the
presidency and it's not going to work."
However,
pressed on whether he would support Trump if he were to become the
nominee, the former Florida governor answered in the affirmative.
"Yes, I would, of course. We need to be unified. We need to win," Bush said.
After Trump's press conference, Bush tweeted a tongue-in-cheek version of the pledge that said, "Voted Republican since 1972."
Meanwhile, others are raising questions about just how enforceable a loyalty pledge is.
"You're right, it's unenforceable," said Carly Fiorina on CNN's "New Day." "It is, more than anything else, your word."
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