Donald Trump Threatens ‘Riots’ If He Loses Republican Nomination

Donald Trump told CNN’s Chris Cuomo that “there’d be riots” if he doesn’t get the nomination at a contested convention this summer. After his crushing victories in Florida, Illinois, and North Carolina last night, Donald Trump took to the airwaves this morning to address some of the concerns that voters might have with his candidacy – namely, the increasingly violent physical altercations between Trump supporters and Trump protesters.

“I think we’ll win before getting to the convention, but I can tell you if we didn’t and if we’re 20 votes short or if we’re 100 short and we’re at 1100 and somebody else is at 500 or 400 I don’t think you can say we don’t get it automatically. I think you’d have riots, I’m representing a tremendous – many many millions of people,” Donald Trump said on CNN‘s New Day this morning.

Donald Trump, won decisive victories in three out of four Republican primaries last night, and this morning he took a different tone than usual, as the reality of his nomination is starting to sink in for the Republican base. Trump said there might be riots if he doesn’t net the nomination before the convention — and if, at the convention, delegates prevent him from winning — but he also shifted gears, and talked about the divide he has caused within the Republican party, reports Talking Points Memo.

'I think you'd have riots,' Trumps warns if denied GOP nomination https://t.co/Ti8BxROEcX

— Terry Bly (@TlbBly) March 16, 2016

“I think there’s a natural healing process, once the battle is over once the war is over, I think there really is a natural healing process,” Donald Trump said on CNN’s New Day this morning.

Uncharacteristic for Trump, he wasn’t exactly repentant, but he did seem contrite and attempted to tone down the rhetoric a little bit after his huge wins in Super Tuesday Part 3 last night. Trump, for his part, also said that he’s not usually the kind of person to start fights, to ignite conflicts. Trump said he usually gets along well with people, and he has all his life. This presidential race, he says, has been surprising to him — because he’s so likeable.

“I’ve gotten along with people all my life, this is actually a little bit unusual. I’ve gotten along very well with people and I think it’ll happen again,” Trump said on CNN’s New Day this morning.

The RNC heard Trump’s mention of convention riots this morning and jumped in front of the news before it hit wide. According to Politico, Sean Spicer — the RNC chief strategist — also spoke with CNN this morning after Donald Trump threatened convention riots if he’s deprived of the Republican nomination. It’s worth noting that the plan to rob Trump of the nomination is certainly in the works in some campaigns, as John Kasich has said in the past few weeks, alluding to the fact that his candidacy is an attempt to force a convention fight this summer.

Now Trump's talking about riots at the convention. Shows the cost of the GOP's cowardice in not standing up to him.https://t.co/QRsrus7xZU

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 16, 2016

“Well first of all, I assume [Trump] is speaking figuratively,” said Sean Spicer on CNN this morning.

Spicer went on to hedge though, stating that the convention is just part of the process, and the Trump campaign won’t receive any special treatment — he won’t be voted up or down based on anything other than the will of the delegates and whatever wheeling and dealing that happens on the convention floor — pro or anti-Trump.

“I think if we go into a convention, whoever gets 1,237 delegates becomes the nominee. It’s plain and simple,” Spicer said to CNN, taking care not to address Trump’s allegation that the convention is an attempt to usurp his nomination.

Spicer’s claims however do contradict Trump’s statement on CNN, according to the RNC spokesman whoever gets to 1,237 first will win the nomination — nobody gets it automatically, no matter how close they are, until they cross that threshold.

[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]