Donald Trump has changed his tune on a third-party bid for the White House less than three months after “totally pledging” his allegiance to the Republican Party during a dramatic news conference at his gilded Manhattan skyscraper.
“The best way for the Republicans to win is if I win the nomination and go directly against whoever [Democrats] put up,” Trump said, minutes after tweeting a picture of his signed loyalty pledge to the Republican National Committee.
All 17 candidates who signed the document explicitly stated they would “not seek to run as an independent or a write-in candidate.”
But on Sunday, the billionaire told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, “we’ll see what happens” when asked if he was open to a third-party run.
“I’m going to have to see what happens. I have to be treated fairly,” Trump told the anchor. “If I’m treated fairly, I’m fine. All I want … is a level playing field.”
.@WSJ reports that @GOP getting ready to treat me unfairly—big spending planned against me. That wasn’t the deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 23, 2015
And the current Republican front-runner doubled-down on that message Monday on his personal Twitter page.
The report Trump’s referring to was published last Friday by the Wall Street Journal and titled, “GOP Operative Plans ‘Guerrilla Campaign’ Against Donald Trump.”
“A well-connected GOP operative is planning a “guerrilla campaign” backed by secret donors to “defeat and destroy” [Trump],” the Journal reported, citing a private memo circulated by former Republican National Committee online communications director Liz Mair.
According to the Journal, Mair recently launched Trump Card LLC, an opposition group she reportedly claims is being bankrolled by a handful of anti-Trump donors.
While the Journal notes the forthcoming “guerilla campaign” against Trump is being spearheaded by Mair, Trump tagged her former employer, the RNC, in his tweet Monday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the committee did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
