Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump laid blame on the Republican National Committee for what he called a “rigged” system after losing out on delegates to Sen. Ted Cruz in Colorado over the weekend.
“The system, folks, is rigged — it’s a rigged system,” Mr. Trump said at a rally on Tuesday in New York state. “Now you have to understand — I’m not complaining about the states that I won — those are OK.”
“When you look at Colorado, and people [can] say, ’Oh well, that’s the way the game’s played,’ look — they should have had an election. They didn’t have an election,” he said. “That system is set up so that the crooked politicians can make sure they get somebody in that’s not, you know, part of what we’re doing.”
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas picked up 13 delegates in Colorado over the weekend at a state convention after winning others at the congressional district level.
“Our Republican system is absolutely rigged. It’s a phony deal,” Mr. Trump said. “I’ll tell you what — the RNC, the Republican National Committee — they should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this kind of crap to happen. … They should be ashamed of themselves.”
“Because it has nothing to do with democracy. They took the votes away from the people in Colorado, people are burning up their Republican cards because they want to vote, and you got to see what’s happening out there,” he said. “It’s actually a thing of beauty if you want to know the truth, because they’re not going to take it. It may be shoved down their face, and who knows? But you know what? They’re fighting, and they’re all over the place, and they’re angry.”
SEE ALSO: Bikers for Trump to descend on Cleveland as contested convention looms
Mr. Trump recently met in Washington, D.C., with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, and the RNC has said the rules of the road have been known well in advance.
“Nomination process known for a year + beyond. It’s the responsibility of the campaigns to understand it. Complaints now? Give us all a break,” Mr. Priebus tweeted Tuesday evening.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.