Donald Trump Pushes Forward in Iowa Despite Republican Party Concern
— -- Donald Trump attended two events in Iowa Saturday, continuing his campaign push in the state despite drawing concern from the Republican party over his recent comments about Mexican immigrants.
The real estate mogul appeared at a reception at the John Wayne Birthplace and Museum ahead of headlining the Madison County GOP Dinner.
Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus admits that Trump’s comments were “not helpful to the party." But the party won’t condemn the presidential candidate or ban him from the first primary debate due to his comments, Priebus said.
"We're going to run a fair, clean primary system, which includes a debate process that's up front and clear to people," Priebus said Friday regarding Trump. “Whichever candidates make that process cutoff, those people are going to be on the stage."
Trump said Mexican immigrants were bringing "drugs," "crime" and "rapists" to the U.S. when announcing his candidacy earlier this month.
"Not everything is going to be a hundred percent copacetic all the time," said Priebus, who commissioned a report after the 2012 election that determined the Republican party needed to improve its outreach to Hispanic voter. "But again, it's not my decision to decide who the nominee is and who we're going to support."
Trump, 69, is among the top 10 Republican presidential candidates in a number of recent polls, which puts him on pace to qualify for the first two Republican primary debates in the presidential cycle later this year.
Many party members are concerned the business mogul, who has not been afraid to criticize fellow Republicans as a candidate, would serve as a distraction in the primary process.
Spanish language television network Univison ended its Miss Universe pageant relationship with Trump's business interests after his immigrant comments. He has since banned the company and its leaders from using his hotel and golf course in Doral, Florida.
