RNC chairman praises Trump as a 'net positive' for the Republican Party

(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

published 24 August 2015

After months of trying to get Donald Trump to tone down his fiery rhetoric and stop threatening a third-party run, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus seems to be changing his tune on the Republican Party's most outspoken 2016 candidate, BuzzFeed reports. In an interview this weekend with WISN's Upfront, Priebus said that Trump has certainly "tapped into" a certain voter group that is dissatisfied with Washington and that Trump has increased interest in the presidential primary.

"I think it is a positive for our party. When you have 30 million people watching, not to mention that fact that we have 16 other incredible candidates out there I think we are showing America that we are the young, diverse party, offering a whole slew of options for people and that's a good thing," he said. Asserting that likability is "the number one thing on the ballot in a presidential election," he said Trump's ability to channel "your own concerns and frustrations" will help the GOP in a big way.