Donald Trump doesn’t believe the Republican Party needs to be united behind him to win the general election in November.
In a clip released of Sunday’s episode of ABC’s “This Week,” the presumptive Republican nominee said he doesn’t think the party needs to be unified in the “traditional sense.” Trump said he plans to win over millions of Democrats, naming specifically supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Already, many Republicans are calling for unity and are lining up behind Trump now that his last remaining rivals have dropped out of the race, including former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and several of his GOP nomination challengers.
However, many members of the “Never Trump” movement remain firm in their opposition to Trump, and some prominent party leaders including Mitt Romney, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush have refused to endorse him.
Trump said “it would be better” if Republicans unite, but questioned the cost of appealing to a wider base of conservatives.
“I have to stay true to my principles also, and I’m a conservative,” Trump said. “But don’t forget this is called the Republican Party, it’s not called the ‘Conservative Party.'”
