Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he will get over the 1,237 delegates number “fairly easily” to secure the Republican nomination.
Partial transcript as follows:
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me move on. this comes on the heels of you saying this week there could be riots in Cleveland if you entered the Republican convention with more voting than anybody else but didn’t get the nomination. Speaker Paul Ryan called you out. Did you go too far there? If you don’t have the 1237 delegates going into Cleveland, why should you be guaranteed the nomination?
TRUMP: I think if I’m a few short and I have 1200 or 1100 and somebody else is at 300, 400, 500, likely to be the case, and if I’m a little bit short, and one of the reasons was, we had so many candidates. I mean, we started off with 17 candidates. And, it came down to, you know, finally, it’s down to three, frankly. But there are so many candidates. It’s hard to get over that number. It’s unfair in a way. Now, here’s what I think. Now they’re out. Now they’re out. I think I will get over that number. I think i may get over that number fairly easily. Arizona was unbelievable yesterday. Utah, frankly, was unbelievable the day before. I think we will get over that number. Tremendous spirit about make America great again. That’s the whole thing. We’re going to make America great again.
STEPHANOPOULOS: If you don’t, there’s nothing unfair about having a multi ballot convention, is there?
TRUMP: I think the biggest story in all of politics are the millions of people that are coming out to vote for me, in fairness, for the Republican party. They’re up 75%, 72%, 102% different states in the primaries. It’s the single biggest story worldwide in politics is, what’s happening at the millions and millions of people that are going out to vote for me. Now, I will say this. the Democrats are down 35%. whereas the Republicans are up over 70%. and some cases even more than that. I say this. if you’re going to disenfranchise all of those people, some of whom have never voted before, and they’re 50 and older, but if you’re going the disenfranchise all of those people, independents, Democrats. we have a lot of people coming over.
STEPHANOPOULOS: It’s okay for them to riot?
TRUMP: I didn’t say — all I can say is this. I don’t know what’s going to happen. You’ll have a lot of very unhappy people. And I think frankly for the Republicans to disenfranchise all those people. if that happens, they’re not voting. The Republicans lose. If the Republicans embrace these great people showing up, the Republicans are going to have a massive victory.
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