Wednesday, March 30, 2016

First Read: Backing Away from the GOP Loyalty Pledge

First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.
 
Broken promises

Back in September, when Donald Trump signed that loyalty pledge to the Republican Party with great fanfare, how many people really thought the promise would hold? Last night marked the moment when Trump formally dumped the pledge, saying when asked if he still respects his promise to back the GOP nominee: "No, I don't anymore. No. We'll see who it is." John Kasich made moves to back away yesterday too, saying "If the nominee is somebody that I think is really hurting the country, and dividing the country, I can't stand behind them, but we have a ways to go." And Ted Cruz continued to go right up to the line again, reiterating the argument he made last week that he's "not in the habit" of supporting people who attack his family. Look, we've already long since been past the point when any of the likely outcomes of the Republican convention result in a party that's anything but split between the pro- and anti- Trump crowds. But yesterday is yet another date to circle in the history of the GOP's identity crisis nonetheless. 

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