Donald Trump To Decide On Third-Party Run ‘Soon’

On Saturday, Donald Trump said he will soon decide whether or not to run as a third-party candidate while speaking at the National Federation of Republican Assemblies in Nashville, Tennessee. Although the real estate mogul has been leading the pack in Republican primary polls, he still insists that a third party run would be the surest path to victory.

“As far as a third-party run is concerned, the Republican Party has been treating me very, very fairly. All I ask is fairness. In terms of victory, that would certainly be the best path to victory, and we’re gonna make a decision very soon and I think a lot of people are gonna be very happy.”

According to ABC News, Donald Trump was the only GOP candidate not to rule out running as a third party candidate in the first Fox News debate. By leaving the option open, Trump likely scared party officials with the potential of splitting the conservative vote. But one way or another, he’ll have to make a decision by September 30.

In South Carolina, the Republican party authorities have set up a rule: all candidates participating in the local primary must pledge to support the eventual nominee — which means not campaigning against them in the general election.

Still, Donald Trump has other reasons to stick with the GOP, which he explained.

“I’ve been treated very nicely, as you know. I’ve been leading in every poll. I’m leading in every state — by a lot. And nationally by a lot. I have a great relationship to the Republican Party — to the conservatives, to the evangelicals, to the tea party. You probably noticed right across the board.”

Despite the support, Donald Trump has noted that the threat of a potential third party run has been good leverage according to CNN.

Trump rose to prominence in the GOP primary race with his controversial statements about immigrants and constant fights with media figures and companies. Even though political experts thought the firebrand candidate would fizzle out quickly, he’s managed to surpass all of his competitors consistently for a month.

The Trump campaign has also been showing signs that even his more outrageous statements have been part of a comprehensive strategy.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the real estate mogul was telling the GOP that Latinos would never vote for them as early as 2014. His campaign has since alienated much of the Latino community, but won over the hard-right core of the Republican Party.

Think Progress even reported that Donald Trump is the one of the few conservative candidates promising to defend Medicare and Social Security — a position favored by the majority of GOP voters, but completely ignored by mainstream candidates.

[Image Credit: Getty Images]