Donald Trump on Thursday issued a threat to stop fundraising for the Republican Party after a report emerged that party officials could focus resources on down-ballot candidates.
"I mean, if it is true, that's OK too because all I have to do is stop funding the Republican Party," Trump said on Fox News's "The O'Reilly Factor" when asked about the Republican National Committee potentially diverting funds away from the presidential race.
"I'm the one raising the money for them," he continued. "In fact, right now I'm in Orlando, I'm going to a fundraiser for the Republican Party. If they want to do that, they can save me a lot of time and a lot of energy."
Trump told Fox News that he had spoken with Chairman Reince Priebus about a report the RNC may shift resources to down-ballot candidates as many Republicans shy away from his campaign.
“Yes, I have. He just put out a press release. He just put out a tweet saying it’s untrue," Trump said.
RNC chief strategist Sean Spicer denied that Priebus threatened to reallocate resources on Twitter.
Time magazine had
reported that Priebus told Trump last week that if the Republican presidential nominee didn't change the direction of his campaign, the party would move its focus elsewhere.
The magazine later said its original article mischaracterized a phone call between Priebus and Trump and that the RNC chair had merely laid out his concerns with the direction of the GOP nominee's campaign.
"The Republican National Committee has acknowledged the possibility of redirecting its resources, but a spokesperson says Priebus did not explicitly convey that possibility to Trump in that phone conversation," the updated
Time report said.
Trump has moved to regain his footing in the race after slipping behind Democratic nominee
Hillary Clinton in polls following both parties' conventions last month and a political firestorm over several controversies involving the GOP nominee, prompting criticism from even his own party.
Trump also dismissed a letter from a group of prominent Never Trump Republicans calling on the RNC to divert resources from Trump to instead maintain GOP majorities in Congress.
"Given the catastrophic impact that Donald Trump’s losing presidential campaign will have on down-ballot Senate and House races, we urge you to immediately suspend all discretionary RNC support for Trump and focus the entirety of the RNC’s available resources on preserving the GOP’s congressional majorities," a
draft of the letter stated.
“Well, there’s no truth," Trump said Thursday. "I’m the one that’s funding, I’m the one that’s raising the money and other people are getting to use the money that I raised."
