Former President Donald Trump stated that he will not sign the RNC loyalty pledge.
According to Axios, all Republican presidential candidates are required to take their pledge to support whoever gains the nomination in order to participate in the upcoming August 23 primary debate.
On Wednesday, Trump went on Newsmax and discussed his reasons for declining the pledge with Eric Bolling.
BREAKING: Donald Trump says he will not sign the RNC pledge to support the 2024 Republican nominee if he loses the GOP presidential primary pic.twitter.com/DS13byrsPW
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) August 10, 2023
He said, “I wouldn’t sign the pledge. Why would I sign a pledge if there are people on there that I wouldn’t have?”
Trump noted having issues with some of the current Republican candidates, but declined to specifically name anyone.
He also explained that his lead in the polls is reason enough to avoid signing the RNC pledge.
He said, “Why would you do that when you’re leading by so much? Ronald Reagan didn’t do it. Nixon didn’t do it. Many people didn’t do it.”
Trump is leading in the GOP primary polls and has been for months, via Five Thirty Eight.
The GOP requirement for candidates to sign the pledge tied to the debates is a newly instated policy. According to the Associated Press, this was adopted in just February of this year.
Despite this, he did note a desire to join the debate. He stated, “I’d like to do it. I’ve actually gotten every good marks on debating talents.”
Rumors that Tucker Carlson may interview Trump on the night of the debate have sparked after he noted that people keep making this suggestion, per the Washington Examiner.
Trump stressed he is focused on voters and what they want.
He said, “They want a smart president. They want somebody that’s gonna be smart. So we have to do the smart thing.”