Updated 9:09 p.m.:
Donald Trump continued his recent tirade against how states have selected delegates in the wake of their Republican primary elections on Tuesday, decrying tactics from rival Ted Cruz to maximize his number of supporters headed to the Republican National Convention.
“The Colorado thing was very unfair and I thought Louisiana was unfair,” Trump told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “I know the rules very well but I know it’s stacked against me by the establishment.”
Original post 8:26 p.m.:
Donald Trump is set to participate in a special CNN town hall in New York City Tuesday night, where he will be joined on stage by his wife and children ahead of next week’s crucial New York primary.
In the rare family appearance, Trump’s wife, Melania, and children — Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr. and Tiffany — will share the spotlight with the Republican presidential front-runner, answering questions from New York voters in the audience.
The prime-time event will shed light on Trump’s family life, and potentially help cast the real estate mogul — famous for his tough rhetoric and brash personality — in a softer light. Although his family has had a relatively limited role in Trump’s presidential campaign so far, Melania and Ivanka are fierce defenders of Trump, particularly over his relationship with women. Ivanka’s public appearance Tuesday comes about two weeks after she gave birth to her third child.
The town hall comes ahead of New York’s Republican primary next Tuesday. Trump, who was born in Queens and now resides in the famous Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, is expected to easily win the state’s contest next week, where 95 delegates are at stake.
Trump has 54% of support among likely New York GOP primary voters, according to a recent Fox News poll. GOP rivals Ohio Gov. John Kasich trails with 22% and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has just 15% support.
The event also comes as Trump has expressed frustration with the Republican National Committee’s rules for awarding delegates, in the wake of getting out-organized by Cruz in the quest for individual delegates in many states.
“I think the vote is the thing that should count,” Trump said Tuesday in Rome, New York. “The rules are no good when you don’t get democracy … The rules are no good when you have to play dirty tricks in order to pick up delegates.”
Trump directly called out RNC Chairman Reince Priebus for what he called unfairness in the primary, in an interview with The Hill published Tuesday.
“It’s a disgrace for the party. And Reince Priebus should be ashamed of himself. He should be ashamed of himself because he knows what’s going on,” Trump told The Hill.
Tuesday’s event with the Trump clan is the second of three consecutive family town halls CNN is hosting this week.
On Monday night, Kasich took the stage with his wife, Karen, and two daughters, Emma and Reese. The family discussed everything from how the daughters deal with political attacks on their father, to Kasich’s quirky habits to how the governor believes a potential contested convention this summer would play out.
Wednesday’s CNN town hall will feature Cruz and his wife, Heidi.
