Trump: A third-party candidate guarantees Clinton wins
Speaking with ABC News on Wednesday morning, Donald Trump speculated that if a third-party spoiler gained significant traction, it would only help the Democrats.
"I understand what they're saying because it's been a very tough campaign," Trump said, responding to a question about #NeverTrump Republicans who would consider voting third party if he is nominated. "But just let me tell you, a third party guarantees — not 90 percent or 99 percent, 100 percent — that Democrats will win. Probably Hillary, I guess it's Hillary, looks like it if she gets to the starting gate, which she probably will frankly."
Trump's remarks are particularly intriguing given his own history of flirtation with a third-party run. In July of last year, he told The Hill he would "absolutely" consider that option for his campaign.
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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