By Mike Allen , Ben Schreckinger and Annie Karni, Sept. 3, 2015, Politico
Donald Trump and Reince Priebus have a deal.
Trump has pledged to support the eventual Republican nominee, whoever that may be, the Republican front-runner and the chairman of the Republican National Committee announced at a press conference on Thursday.
The deal is a winner for Trump. In the short term, it clears the way for his name to appear on primary ballots and addresses the concerns of Republican voters turned off by his initial unwillingness to pledge his fealty to the party.
And if he changes his mind down the road, the pledge has no legal power to block Trump — who recently said of his four strategic corporate bankruptcies "I have taken advantage of the laws of the country" — from reversing course and making an independent presidential bid.
More: www.politico.com
By Jonathan Karl, Sept. 3, 2015, ABC News
Donald Trump is expected to sign the GOP loyalty pledge today, according to a source familiar with the conservations between Trump and the Republican National Committee.
Trump has not yet directly told GOP leaders what he will do.
“Mr. Trump will make a decision today,” Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told ABC News this morning. “No word on what that will be as of yet.”
Trump’s scheduled 2 p.m. news conference today will come after he meets with RNC ChairmanReince Priebus at Trump Tower. Priebus, however, does not plan to appear with. Priebus has been in talks with Trump about the pledge for several weeks.
The RNC is now asking presidential candidates to sign a loyalty pledge, which, according to GOP sources, reads, “I affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for president of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is. I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party.”
