Despite Donald Trump’s commanding win in the Nevada caucus Tuesday, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is holding off coronating the Republican front-runner as the standard-bearer.
“I think it’s pretty clear we’re going to embrace whoever the nominee is. I embrace all of these candidates,” he told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota Wednesday on “New Day.” “Whoever the nominee ends up becoming their going to join the biggest RNC operation we’ve put together.”
Priebus said the GOP is still pretty divided in its support.
“It’s a big party. And there are some of our major donors I saw standing behind Donald Trump. People are competing. And people are endorsing different candidates,” he said.
Priebus said he was not surprised by Trump’s success in Nevada with Hispanic voters because the Republican Party has been working for the past several years to connect with Hispanic voters.
“We have been obviously working very hard in expanding the Republican Party in Hispanic communities. We’re in the middle of hiring 1,300 people right now many of which are going to be in Hispanic neighborhoods,” he said. “What I have in mind is making sure that we’ve got a party that doesn’t show up in Hispanic and black communities and Asian communities three months before an election and expect that the brand is going to sell. It won’t.”
Priebus also dismissed a Washington Post editorial taking him to task for not rebuking Trump over controversial statements.
“That is the stupidest editorial that I have ever seen,” he said. “That I’m called out for not beating up the front-runner of the GOP … It’s ridiculous.”
“That’s not my job. My job is to put forward the fairest process that we can put forward. To not put my hand on the scale. To allow our delegates to make the choices that they want to make. And then accept the decision that the delegates make,” he said.