Carson threatens to leave Republican Party
Refuses to allow 'theft' if report on backdoor dealings true
Published: 18 hours ago
Former neurosurgeon and presidential hopeful Ben Carson sent a scathing message to the leaders of the Republican Party over a report of a possible brokered convention that made media waves this week, saying if the story proves true, he might abandon the GOP.
“If the leaders of the Republican Party want to destroy the party, they should continue to hold meetings like the one described in the Washington Post,” Carson said, in a statement from his campaign reported by Politico.
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He was referring to a Washington Post report about Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus supposedly joining with a couple dozen establishment-minded GOP members to hold a brokered convention. The hope was the move would leave Donald Trump, the front-runner Republican for president – and the one most detested by some in the party leadership – in the dust, scrambling for delegate support.
Carson, in Politico, said he hoped the Washington Post report was wrong. But if it wasn’t, he vowed he might just join Trump, who’s been teasing of a third-party run, off and on, for months.
“If it is correct, every voter who is standing for change must know they are being betrayed,” Carson said, Politico reported. “I won’t stand for it. [And if it's true], I assure you, Donald Trump won’t be the only one leaving the party.”
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The upcoming Cleveland convention could prove the last Republican National Convention, should RNC leaders try to control and manipulate the process, Carson said.
“I am prepared to lose fair and square, as I am sure is Donald,” Carson said, the news outlet reported. “But I will not sit by and watch a theft. I intend on being the nominee. If I am not, the winner will have my support. If the winner isn’t our nominee, then we have a massive problem.”
The chief strategist for the RNC, Sean Spicer, said the dinner reported on by the Washington Post was simply about process, and not about undercutting the leading GOP candidate, Trump.
“This was a discussion about the delegation selection process,” he said, Politico reported. “A question was asked on whether we are ready. We are always ready. The takeaway was that [Preibus] was asked a question and he answered it. The chairman acknowledged that if we got to that point, we would be prepared. Our job is to prepare for a successful nomination process.”
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Trump, meanwhile, in a prior interview about his reaction to a brokered convention, said he doubted the scenario would happen.
“But if it is [happening], I’d certainly go all the way,” Trump said, to the Washington Post. “I think I’d have a certain disadvantage [though]. I’ll be disadvantaged. My disadvantage is that I’d be going up against guys who grew up with each other, know each other intimately, and I don’t know who they are, OK? That’s a big disadvantage.”
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