WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said it would be “pretty unfair” for a brokered convention to take place, even if he fails to win all the delegates needed to capture the party’s nomination.
Trump made the comments during an interview Tuesday morning on Fox News. Trump was asked what should happen in the event he continues to lead in the delegate count headed into the GOP convention in Cleveland, but fails to win the magic number of delegates, 1,237, needed to win the nomination.
Failing to reach that number could lead to what would be the party’s first brokered convention in generations.
“I think that whoever is leading at the end should sort of get [the nomination]. That’s the way that democracy works,” Trump said.
“I don’t know that that’s going to happen. But I’ll tell you, there are going to be a lot of people that will be very upset if that doesn’t happen,” he added. “I think that would be pretty unfair.”
If Trump fails to reach 1,237 delegates after all the primaries and caucuses — and if no candidate gives up the race — then the party would be deadlocked on the first ballot. After that, all pledged delegates would be free to support a different candidate on successive ballots.
That is precisely the scenario alluded to by the party’s 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney, who called on voters in each state to vote for the candidate most likely to defeat Trump there. Romney has said the best chance to deny Trump the nomination could be at a brokered convention.
