OUTSPOKEN WITH BRUCE AND GAYDOS
Donald Trump: GOP has not told me to tone down rhetoric
Jul 9, 2015, 3:31 PM | Updated: 3:31 pm
PHOENIX — Businessman and prospective Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said the party has not asked him to tone down his rhetoric.
After making controversial statements about illegal immigrants, reports began circulating the party called for Trump to reel things in a bit.
Trump, who is scheduled to speak in Phoenix on Saturday, said the opposite is true.
“I was called by Reince Priebus, the head of it (the Republican Party), and he called me to congratulate me because I went to number one in the polls,” Trump told KTAR News’ Mac & Gaydos on Thursday.
“He actually said ‘You’re doing an amazing job,'” Trump continued, adding that Priebus “could not have been nicer.”
The mogul has been taking heat since he announced his candidacy in June with a speech that included a remark that portrayed immigrants from Mexico as “bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.”
Trump clarified those statements Thursday, saying he wanted to come across as humane, not mean.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.