The chairman the Republican Party tried Sunday to tamp down charges from GOP front-runner Donald Trump that he is rigging the system for choosing delegates for the national convention.
“The rules are set by each individual state,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “The RNC doesn’t have the authority to change it even if they wanted to.”
The comments come as Trump accused the party of rigging the selection process for delegates as Trump supporters have had problems getting chosen in several states. Trump is particularly upset about Colorado after all of the 34 delegates chosen by the state party were for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Pledged delegates must vote for the candidate who won the state during a convention’s first ballot, but can vote for anyone else on future ballots. In a contested convention, having enough supporters for your candidate among the delegates is critical.
Priebus said that the rules for delegate selection vary by state and were created back in August 2015.
“The RNC doesn’t have the power to change the rules between now and the convention, the rules were set years ago,” he said.
He also addressed a threat from Roger Stone, a Trump supporter, to disclose the hotel room numbers for delegates at the convention.
Priebus said that he is committed to ensuring the delegates have a “safe week.”
