After Republican frontrunner Donald Trump tried to resurrect speculation he could defect from the GOP for a third-party bid Thursday morning, “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough slapped down the billionaire’s claims the party was mistreating him.
Trump bemoaned the party “establishment” running attack ads on his record with Trump University – his real estate seminars currently embroiled in a fraud lawsuit – and said if he left the party, “millions and millions” of voters would follow him.
“[They’re] knocking the hell out of me and it’s really unfair,” Trump said. “But if I leave, if I go, regardless of independent, which I may do, may or may not, but if I go, these millions of people that joined, they polled them, they’re all coming with me.”
Scarborough, a former congressman from Florida, didn’t let Trump off the hook.
“But, Donald, you’re missing the point!” he said, raising his voice. “This is what happens in politics, people try to kill you and then they come together at the end. I’m asking, are you capable after you beat them, going to them humbly and saying, ‘OK I need your help, let’s bring this party together?’”
“I have no problem with that,” Trump responded, saying he’s a “unifier” who gets along well with others.
Asked by Scarborough if he would still consider running third party if the GOP doesn’t “play fair by your rules,” Trump responded he hasn’t been “treated properly.”
“So, I signed a letter with the RNC and I said I want to do this as a Republican, the pledge, as they call it, but I’m not being treated the right way,” he said. “I brought in millions and millions of people to the Republican party and they’re going to throw those people away.”
Trump went on: “I’ll be honest, Joe, whether I ran as an independent or not, those people will never go out and vote. They didn’t vote for Romney last time. They didn’t even exist because they were Democrats and independents.”
