Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus pronounced the Never Trump movement dead, at least in terms of stopping Donald Trump from winning the nomination at next week’s convention in Cleveland.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Priebus declared the push to dethrone Trump “over” after some on the GOP rules committee tried to change party rules to allow delegates to vote their conscience on the first ballot next week, which was their key to having any chance of stopping Trump.
“There is no other candidate,” Priebus said. “That was one of the problems that this ‘Never Trump’ issue had last night. Who is the other candidate? What VP nominees are you vetting? We’re voting next week — on Tuesday or Wednesday. What money are you raising? Where is this person?”
“It’s over,” Priebus said of the possibility. “It was never there.”
The RNC chairman also spoke about the convention featuring what is thought to be the first openly gay speaker, as PayPal founder Peter Thiel is set to speak before the convention, according to the list of speakers released on Thursday. However, he continued to back the party’s support for traditional marriage with the GOP’s platform set to feature toughened language on LGBT issues.
“We’re still a party that believes that marriage is between one man and one woman, but it doesn’t mean that we’re going to kick people out,” he said, describing opposition to gay marriage as “one of the bedrock issues of our party.”
“I can’t win this race if I tell people that they’re not welcome in our party,” Priebus said when asked about Thiel. “He’s been a good help to our party and many candidates across the country. He’s a good Republican. He’s welcome in our party. Period.”
