Skip to content

Reince Priebus Has Had it With Your Complaining, Donald Trump

RNC chairman and GOP front-runner fight over delegate rules

Republican front-runner Donald Trump is now going after Reince Priebus and the RNC's delegate rules. (Al Drago/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Republican front-runner Donald Trump is now going after Reince Priebus and the RNC's delegate rules. (Al Drago/CQ Roll Call file photo)

It sounds like Reince Priebus has had enough.  

“Nomination process known for a year + beyond. It’s the responsibility of the campaigns to understand it. Complaints now? Give us all a break,” The Republican National Committee chairman tweeted  Tuesday night after Donald Trump’s latest barrage of criticism about being treated unfairly by the GOP.  

For those just tuning in to the new bloodsport of securing delegates for the Republican nomination, Trump is not happy that he was caught woefully unprepared.  

This became obvious when his chief rival, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, secured all of Colorado’s delegates at that state’s convention last week as Trump’s forces worked off out-of-date handouts.  

This made Trump mad. At Priebus.  

“It’s a disgrace for the party. And Reince Priebus should be ashamed of himself. He should be ashamed of himself because he knows what’s going on,” he told The Hill’s Bob Cusack . He then said at a CNN town hall Tuesday night that “I know the rules very well, but I know it’s stacked against me by the establishment.”  

Instead of setting up another meeting, like the one the two had last week in Washington , Priebus basically told Trump to take a hike.  

Priebus and Trump have had a delicate relationship since the candidate burst onto the scene. Priebus trekked to Trump’s New York address last year to secure a pledge the mogul would abide by RNC rules and not run a third-party campaign. Trump has periodically complained about being treated unfairly by the party.  

But Priebus is now at the stage where he feels comfortable reminding the candidate it’s not up to the party to make sure he knows how to secure delegates in the party’s arcane nomination process.  

Rules? What Rules? How 112 People Will Determine Where the GOP Convention Goes

Loading the player...

Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone or your Android.

Recent Stories

Trump immunity protesters see ‘make-or-break moment for our republic’

Supreme Court sounds conflicted over Trump criminal immunity

At the Races: Faith in politics

Nonprofits take a hit in House earmark rules

Micron gets combined $13.6 billion grant, loan for chip plants

EPA says its new strict power plant rules will pass legal tests