Donald Trump has seen his delegate lead narrow in recent weeks, and he has responded the way you might expect a kid who loses at checkers to — whining that the rules of the game aren’t fair.
“Our Republican system is absolutely rigged. It’s a phony deal,” he said this week, reports the New York Times. “They wanted to keep people out. This is a dirty trick.”
Trump has specifically criticized the nominating process in Colorado, done without a primary or caucus, and in Louisiana, where more delegates support Ted Cruz despite Trump winning the vote in the state.
Political parties, its important to remember, are private organizations and aren’t bound to any rules of democracy. If the party wanted to select it nominee through a series of physical challenges, that would be within their rights.
Party Chair Reince Priebus took a veiled shot at Trump on Twitter Tuesday:
Nomination process known for a year + beyond. It's the responsibility of the campaigns to understand it. Complaints now? Give us all a break
— Reince Priebus (@Reince) April 13, 2016
Trump is currently leading the polls for the New York Primary, scheduled for next Tuesday. But if he ends up without the required delegates to win the nomination this summer on the first ballot, you can expect a lot more of this from Trump and his supporters.