Donald Trump called into “Morning Joe” the day after the first Republican debate and said that he is “running as a Republican,” but that he doesn’t want to give up the “leverage” of leaving the party to run as an independent.
Trump left the door open for a possible independent run, saying, “I want to leave the option open.”
“I’m running as a Republican. I’m a front-runner,” he said. “Obviously, I would much rather run as a Republican. And I, I let that be clear. And I just want to see — if somebody gets in that I like and if I’m treated with respect, I would not run as an independent. But, I want to leave the option open just in case that doesn’t happen.”