Trump Predicts (Promises?) Riots If the Nomination Is Taken From Him at the Convention

Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Holds Florida Town Hall Event
“Nice convention you’re planning here, would be a shame if something were to … happen to it.” Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg Finance LP/Getty Images

Donald Trump hopes to complete his hostile takeover of the GOP peacefully. But if that’s not possible, he’d like to remind you that he has a following of millions of tremendous, loving, patriotic, potentially violent people.

I think there is a natural healing process. I’ve gotten along with people all my life,” Trump told CNN Wednesday morning, when asked how he planned to unify his party. “I think it’ll happen again. Now, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I’ll go along the same path. Which has obviously been an effective path. I think we’ll win before the convention, but if we didn’t? If we’re 20 votes short? Or if we’re 100 short?”

Trump then made clear that the “effective path” to which he’d alluded was, in fact, the war path.

I don’t think you can say that we don’t get it automatically. I think you’d have riots. I think you’d have riots. I’m representing many, many millions of people. In many cases first-time voters … If you disenfranchise those people? And you say, well, I’m sorry, you’re 100 votes short, even though the next one is 500 votes short? I think you’d have problems like you’ve never seen before. I wouldn’t lead it, but I think bad things will happen.”

After (implicitly) threatening to sic his minions on the party’s convention, Trump further comforted the Republican Establishment by suggesting that he has no need for their egghead advisers. On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Trump was asked whom he’d been consulting with on foreign policy, to ensure he’d be prepared to lead on day one.

I’m speaking with myself, No. 1, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things,” Trump replied.

The “natural healing process” is coming along nicely.

Trump Predicts Riots If He Loses at Convention