Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson doubled down Sunday on his threat to leave the party if GOP leaders try to manipulate the nomination process with “back room deals”.
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Last week, it was reported top officials of the Republican Party met to discuss a strategy in the event Donald Trump hails victorious in the primaries.
Trump, speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday’s “State of the Union”, defended his call for a ban on all Muslim travel to the U.S.
The RNC made all candidates sign a pledge early on that they would support whoever the eventual Republican nominee turns out to be, but Trump has continued his independent run talk by putting the burden on the GOP to uphold its end of the deal. They were supposed to be honorable, so we’re going to find out. I think something going on w/them. A brokered convention would result if no one candidate secured majority support from delegates to win the nomination outright.
A crowded Republican field for 2016 means the hopefuls are competing for a fractured party base.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is telling donors he questions Trump’s judgment, Donald Trump said, “Well, do you notice he said it behind my back, somebody taped that conversation”. Cruz had 31 percent support; Trump with 21 percent. Marco Rubio 52 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush 42. Cruz also led all candidates when voters were asked for their second-choice candidate, underscoring his strength in the state. If it is correct, every voter who is standing for change must know they are being betrayed.
With the Iowa caucuses getting closer and Donald Trump continuing to lead in the polls, the Republican Party power brokers are getting desperate.
“One of the reasons that I got into this is because I heard the frustration in the people who are so exhausted of backroom deals”, Carson said on ABC’s “This Week”.
Carson said, “We have to get over our phobia of the concept of ground troops, because there will be ground troops”.
There hasn’t been one in American politics for more than 60 years, but the sheer number of Republican candidates with strong poll numbers makes it much more likely this year.
If Trump does bolt, 68% of his supporters would support him as an Independent, according to a new poll from USA Today/Suffolk University.
Carson said he has spoken to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus since a closed-door meeting of party leaders in Washington, D.C., last week. A person who attended the dinner confirmed to Bloomberg that it took place, and that Priebus, members of Congress, establishment lobbyists and others have held similar discussions for weeks.
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The recent popularity of Trump in the polls highlights an increase in the anti-establishment mentality of voters, and the departure of both Carson and Trump undoubtedly runs the risk of the GOP losing these voters.
