Sporting poll numbers at just above 20%, Donald Trump has stated that he will not remain in the race if his polls begin drop into the low single digits. With 15 Republican candidates left in the race, Trump retains a strong lead ahead of the second and third place candidates, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, who are both polling around 13%.
Trump’s new position is a long way from claims he made in the first Republican debate, when he stated that he may decide to run as an Independent if he did not win the Republican nomination. In September, he relented and signed a pledge of support for whoever wins the Republican nomination.
Trump is not a stranger to changing his position on the issues, a fact he demonstrated this week when he promised to send back any Syrian refugees if he was elected. Earlier in September, Trump blamed Obama for the crisis and said, “I hate the concept of it, but on a humanitarian basis, with what’s happening, you have to.”
The U.S. has so far taken in 1,500 Syrian refugees since the start of the civil war in 2011.
Trump’s new stand on the issue echoes similar statements by world leaders from around the globe, including Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who criticized his opponents in the federal election earlier this month for being too willing to accept the refugees.
With many world events in chaos, or teetering on the edge, there is plenty of space for the real-estate mogul to make criticisms and outrageous claims, one of his favorite pastimes.
As Russia pursues its aggressive expansion in Ukraine, and now Syria, the issue will surely be a new source of quips on the administration’s missteps and failures to “negotiate.”
After Obama administration officials endlessly repeated their policy of “deconflicting” the situation with Russia in Syria, it was widely seen as a humiliation when Russia moved to begin airstrikes on Wednesday after issuing a one hour warning to U.S. officials.
Stay Connected
