Donald Trump Expected to Sign GOP Pledge Today, Source Says
— -- Donald Trump is expected to sign the GOP loyalty pledge today, according to a source familiar with the conservations between Trump and the Republican National Committee.
Trump has not yet directly told GOP leaders what he will do.
“Mr. Trump will make a decision today,” Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told ABC News this morning. “No word on what that will be as of yet.”
Trump’s scheduled 2 p.m. news conference today will come after he meets with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus at Trump Tower. Priebus, however, does not plan to appear with. Priebus has been in talks with Trump about the pledge for several weeks.
The RNC is now asking presidential candidates to sign a loyalty pledge, which, according to GOP sources, reads, “I affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for president of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is. I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party.”
The pledge is designed to force Trump to rule out a third-party run, but this is a pledge to support the nominee “regardless of who it is.”
Assuming Trump signs, the next question would be whether all 16 other GOP candidates will sign a document that commits them to supporting Trump if he wins the GOP nomination.
Jeb Bush would support Trump, the former Florida governor said on “Good Morning America” today.
But Rick Perry, for example, has called Trump a cancer on the conservative movement. So it remains to be seen whether he -- and the others -- will commit to supporting Trump.
