(LifeSiteNews) — Donald Trump is calling on his Republican rivals to drop out of the GOP primary and rally around him as their nominee for president ahead of next week’s presidential debate.
In a video released on X earlier today, Trump announced that “great polls” have just been released that show him “leading by 40, 50, and even 60 points.”
“Who expected that? I did!” he exclaimed.
READ: Georgia grand jury indicts Trump, 18 allies on ‘racketeering’ charges
DeSanctimonious is CRASHING! pic.twitter.com/40f5MkhBBw
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 17, 2023
Trump also said he had “strong” numbers in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina when compared to his Republican opponents, as well as Joe Biden.
Trump suggested that “perhaps the party should come together. People should drop out of the race.”
While it is unclear what specific polls Trump was referencing during his video, it is nonetheless true that his support among GOP primary voters has remained consistently in the high 40s and 50s.
Politico has also reported that the indictments Trump has been hit with in recent months are actually helping him shore up the party’s base.
A recently released Trafalgar Group poll found that Trump is polling at 55 percent nationally among Republicans, which is nearly 40 percent higher than any other GOP candidate.
READ: Trump defied the GOP ‘secret society’ by overturning Roe v. Wade and calling for peace in Ukraine
2024 National Republican Primary:
Trump 55% (+38)
DeSantis 17%
Pence 5%
Christie 5%
Ramaswamy 4%
Haley 4%
Scott 4%
Elder 1%
Johnson 1%
Hutchinson 1%.@trafalgar_group, 1,082 LV, 8/14-16
— Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) August 17, 2023
In the video, Trump also took a jab at his closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whom he referred to as “DeSanctimonious” and said was “crashing” in the polls.
A survey released by Republican-leaning pollster Cygnal last Thursday found that DeSantis (10 percent) has indeed dropped behind a surging Vivek Ramaswamy (11 percent) as GOP voters’ choice for president. Trump, meanwhile, garnered 53 percent support.
In recent weeks, DeSantis had offered to debate liberal California Governor Gavin Newsom, but the proposal was shot down by Newsom’s camp. Newsom has been rumored to be something of a sleeper candidate who could replace Joe Biden should his health continue to deteriorate.
Trump further predicted that Democrats “should be easy to beat because our country has never been in worse condition than it is right now.”
“We unify and we beat Biden and the Democrats.”
As in 2016, Trump has not yet committed to backing the eventual Republican nominee for president. He has also refused to say if he will appear at the first GOP debate next week, which will be held on Wednesday. It is believed that he may do an interview with Tucker Carlson instead.
The Republican National Committee previously announced that agreeing to support the party’s nominee is a requirement to appear on the debate stage.
Candidates that are likely to attend the debate include former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nimarata “Nikki” Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.