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Donald Trump and Ted Cruz distance themselves from pledge to support Republican nominee regardless of who wins

Trump said he believes establishment Republicans and the Republican National Committee have not treated him with respect.

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Republican front runner Donald Trump. Photo: AFP

None of the three remaining Republican presidential candidates would guarantee Tuesday night that they would support the eventual Republican nominee for president, departing from previous vows to do so and injecting new turmoil into an already tumultuous contest.

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Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich were each given a chance to during a CNN town hall in Milwaukee to definitively state they would support the nominee. All three declined to renew their pledge. As recently as March 3, in a Fox News debate, all three said they would support the nominee.

I’m the front runner by a lot. I’m beating Ted Cruz by millions of votes
Donald Trump

“No, I don’t anymore,” Trump told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, when asked if he remains committed to the pledge. Trump said that he would instead wait to see who emerges as the nominee before promising his support, recanting the pledge he previously signed with the Republican Party.

“I have been treated very unfairly,” Trump said.

Trump and his team have braced for the possibility of a contested convention in recent weeks, as opposing forces have set their sights on denying him the nomination by preventing him from crossing the necessary delegate threshold.

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Trump said on Tuesday that he believes establishment Republicans and the Republican National Committee in particular have not treated him with respect.

“I’m the front runner by a lot. I’m beating Ted Cruz by millions of votes,” he said. “This was not going to happen with the Republican Party. People who have never voted before, Democrats and independents are pouring in and voting for me.”

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