Trump rules out third party run

[dudeabides]

http://race42016.com/2015/07/22/trump-rules-out-third-party-run-says-i-will-only-ever-run-as-a-republican/

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[Pyro]

Well duh he's not gonna talk about a third party run now - he's leading in the polls!

When the momentum dies down and he comes in 4th in Iowa then we'll talk.

[Cory]

Hopefully after he doesn't win the nomination he runs anyways because "he has to to save the country" or something.

[Mehmentum]

It probably wouldn't be a good idea to run a primary campaign while leaving open the possibility that you could run as a third party and ruin the party's chances of winning.  (though if anybody could get away with it, its Trump).

[HillOfANight]

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-18/donald-trump-refuses-to-rule-out-third-party-candidacy

Just a few days ago

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He's flipped and flopped on this question a couple times. I'm sure he'll change his mind on it like he's changed wives.

[Brittain33]

I'm sure whatever Trump said in response to that question was well thought-out and unlikely to change in any way.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

As a member of the Reform Party who brought in Pat Buchanan and Jesse Ventura, he doesnt measure up to any them and would never get 15 percent to qualify for debates.

[Retrumplican]

I'm fine with this for now. It is a good way for Donald to increase his poll numbers and consolidate his support for the meanwhile.

However, if the GOP establishment tries any tricks and steals the nomination away from him and betrays the American voters, then he will be fully justified in running as an independent.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

I'm fine with this for now. It is a good way for Donald to increase his poll numbers and consolidate his support for the meanwhile.

However, if the GOP establishment tries any tricks and steals the nomination away from him and betrays the American voters, then he will be fully justified in running as an independent.

Knowing that voters like you exist gives me so much hope for the future of America.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I'm fine with this for now. It is a good way for Donald to increase his poll numbers and consolidate his support for the meanwhile.

However, if the GOP establishment tries any tricks and steals the nomination away from him and betrays the American voters, then he will be fully justified in running as an independent.

Well, not really.

I think it is a relevant issue for a voter to consider as to whether or not a person he/she is supporting in a Presidential primary will, in the end, support the national ticket when nominated.  I'm not a particularly partisan Republican; indeed, I was an Obama voter in 2012 and a Kerry voter in 2004.  But I understand that this would be an important issue for a partisan, and I believe that folks who say they won't run as a third party candidate will violate a promise if they do, and that isn't an honorable thing to do.

If Trump is denied the nomination because all the other candidates find him so unappealing that they all coalesce around another candidate to stop him, well, that's politics.  They get to do this.  Trump didn't promise to endorse the national ticket (though I suppose he will, in the end).  But promising not to run as a third party candidate is a deal-maker for a significant portion of votes Trump will ultimately receive, and he ought to hold to that.

[Kingpoleon]

I'm fine with this for now. It is a good way for Donald to increase his poll numbers and consolidate his support for the meanwhile.

However, if the GOP establishment tries any tricks and steals the nomination away from him and betrays the American voters, then he will be fully justified in running as an independent.

Trump will save the country! I hope he's on the ballot!

Not. This is likely Trump's thinking.

[Retrumplican]

this would be an important issue for a partisan

I agree entirely, and that is why this is the perfect move for Trump to be making at this juncture in the campaign.

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Promises are made to be broken, if necessary. Like you say a bit later on in your post, "well, that's politics."

And anyway, if you look at what he actually said, Trump didn't promise anything. He said he wouldn't run third party. But he didn't say he promised he wouldn't run third party. So that may well just mean that at this point, he doesn't think he is going to run third party. Just a prediction about the future, not a statement of intent. So that could always change.

[Fuzzy Bear]

this would be an important issue for a partisan

I agree entirely, and that is why this is the perfect move for Trump to be making at this juncture in the campaign.

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Promises are made to be broken, if necessary. Like you say a bit later on in your post, "well, that's politics."

And anyway, if you look at what he actually said, Trump didn't promise anything. He said he wouldn't run third party. But he didn't say he promised he wouldn't run third party. So that may well just mean that at this point, he doesn't think he is going to run third party. Just a prediction about the future, not a statement of intent. So that could always change.

I'd need a team of lawyers looking over any document you gave me to sign.

Trump's going to be confronted with the party loyalty issue soon enough, and he WON'T get anywhere near the nomination if he doesn't agree to "support the national ticket", even if it's nothing more than a statement saying he'll vote for the ticket.

[Donald Trump 2016 !]

If Bush is the nominee Trump will definitely run third party. I think Trump could get a sizable group of people a la Ross Perot style due to the election being Clinton vs Bush.

#1992redux

[The Other Castro]

From PPP: In 3 way general Clinton gets 43% to 25% for Bush, 23% for Trump. Trump actually beats Bush w/ "very conservative".

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_National_72215.pdf

[Retrumplican]

From PPP: In 3 way general Clinton gets 43% to 25% for Bush, 23% for Trump. Trump actually beats Bush w/ "very conservative".

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_National_72215.pdf

25-23 should be in the margin of error. So I guess Trump could well be the leading alternative to Clinton in that case.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Boy, let's hope he keeps his word on this.

[The Mikado]

From PPP: In 3 way general Clinton gets 43% to 25% for Bush, 23% for Trump. Trump actually beats Bush w/ "very conservative".

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_National_72215.pdf

I highly doubt that by election day Trump would be out of mid-single digits. He would be the strongest third party candidate since 1996, but even on a good night for Trump as a third party I can't see him passing 6-8% in these highly polarized times.

[Clark Kent]

Oh, good. He doesn't belong with us, either, but that's better than him trying to split our vote.

[dudeabides]

From PPP: In 3 way general Clinton gets 43% to 25% for Bush, 23% for Trump. Trump actually beats Bush w/ "very conservative".

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_National_72215.pdf

25-23 should be in the margin of error. So I guess Trump could well be the leading alternative to Clinton in that case.

"Hillary's always surrounded herself with very good people. I think Hillary would do a good job" - Donald Trump, 2007

"In many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat" - Donald Trump, 2004

[Likely Voter]

Today the NYTimes reported that GOP insiders at an RGA meeting last week discussed trying to get Bush, Rubio and Walker to vow not to appear in the FOX debate unless they dumped Trump, using his refusal to rule out a 3rd party run. Trump knows that for now he has to say he wont run 3rd party but there is no guarantee he wont. With him, who the hell knows.

I think there is a big question about how will the GOP and the nominee handle Trump once the nomination race wraps up. Would Bush or Walker even accept an endorsement? Will the party want him speaking at the convention, in prime time?  But if they shun him, will that inspire him to run 3rd party. It is a Catch 22.

[King]

At this rates, it's Jeb that will have to run as the third party here.

[Retrumplican]

"Hillary's always surrounded herself with very good people. I think Hillary would do a good job" - Donald Trump, 2007

"In many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat" - Donald Trump, 2004

1) That was before Barack Obama destroyed America, with his hope. Barack Obama has radicalized many good Americans, hard working Americans, white Americans, many of whom were Hillary Clinton's base when she was running against Obama. They have streamed in droves to the GOP on the basis of the Tea Party movement, and that is how the GOP won landslide victories in 2010 and 2014. Are you saying that the GOP should not welcome these people into the party? I say, the party is just getting started. Drink a little wine, have a little cracker, and mingle with the newly arrived guests.

2) That's just good business practice. And Donald Trump is a businessman. A successful businessman, who knows how to get things done. That's what he has a track record of doing. And to get anything done in America, you have to curry favor with both parties, to manipulate the instruments of power from all angles. And that's exactly what Donald Trump has done. And when Donald Trump is President, that's exactly what he will continue to do, and that is how he will get his program through Congress, whereas any other candidate without his experience of playing both sides off against each other will get nothing done and be stuck in gridlock forever. It is precisely for this reason that Trump has the potential to be the most legislatively successful President since LBJ.

[Fuzzy Bear]

"Hillary's always surrounded herself with very good people. I think Hillary would do a good job" - Donald Trump, 2007

"In many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat" - Donald Trump, 2004

1) That was before Barack Obama destroyed America, with his hope. Barack Obama has radicalized many good Americans, hard working Americans, white Americans, many of whom were Hillary Clinton's base when she was running against Obama. They have streamed in droves to the GOP on the basis of the Tea Party movement, and that is how the GOP won landslide victories in 2010 and 2014. Are you saying that the GOP should not welcome these people into the party? I say, the party is just getting started. Drink a little wine, have a little cracker, and mingle with the newly arrived guests.

2) That's just good business practice. And Donald Trump is a businessman. A successful businessman, who knows how to get things done. That's what he has a track record of doing. And to get anything done in America, you have to curry favor with both parties, to manipulate the instruments of power from all angles. And that's exactly what Donald Trump has done. And when Donald Trump is President, that's exactly what he will continue to do, and that is how he will get his program through Congress, whereas any other candidate without his experience of playing both sides off against each other will get nothing done and be stuck in gridlock forever. It is precisely for this reason that Trump has the potential to be the most legislatively successful President since LBJ.

That's the thing about Republicans; so many of them are "excluders".  Ronald Reagan was an "includer", and he was a winner.  The current lot of Republicans are "excluders" (they attack Jeb Bush as a "liberal") and they wonder why they are behind the EV eight-ball.

Trump may well lose to Hillary badly if he were the nominee.  But Trump is also the candidate with the MOST potential to expand the electoral map for the GOP.  Trump is the candidate who COULD break into the Solid Northeast.  Trump is the candidate who could POSSIBLY carry California. 

[Mr. Morden]

Here, Trump basically implies that if he's excluded from the debates, he may run 3rd party:

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/248910-exclusive-trump-threatens-third-party-run

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