Trump drops pledge to back Republican presidential nominee other than himselfWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday abandoned a pledge to support a party presidential nominee other than himself, a sign of increasing friction with chief rival Ted Cruz. “No, I don’t anymore,” Trump replied, when asked at a CNN town hall event whether he still supported a pledge he made last year to support whoever is the Republican nominee for the Nov. 8 election. Trump’s signing of a loyalty pledge last September was important in helping him gain credibility within the Republican National Committee. The pledge was also signed by all his rivals for the presidential nomination. His aboutface came as he tries to fend off a challenge from Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas who is running second to the New York billionaire in the race for the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination. Trump and Cruz were enmeshed in a fight last week involving their wives, with a Cruz SuperPAC publishing a provocative photo of Trump’s former model wife, Melania, and Trump retaliating by tweeting an unflattering photo of Cruz’s wife, Heidi. Cruz, asked earlier at the CNN town hall whether he also would honor the pledge to support the nominee if it was not himself, declined to give a straight answer. “Let me tell you my solution to that,” Cruz said. “Donald is not going to be the GOP nominee. We’re going to beat him.”  GOP is the acronym for Grand Old Party, a nickname for the Republican Party. Trump said he could do without Cruz’s support. “I watched him tonight and I watched how tormented he was when you asked him that question,” Trump told CNN moderator Anderson Cooper. “I don’t want to have him be tormented. Let me just tell you I don’t want his support, I don’t need his support. I don’t want him to be uncomfortable.” Trump also said he recognized that several of those who have dropped out of the race might harbor ill feelings towards him, mentioning former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Walker endorsed Cruz earlier on Tuesday, with Wisconsin’s primary vote coming up on April 5. “I drove him out of the race,” Trump said of Walker, who abandoned his presidential bid last autumn. “I drove Jeb Bush out of the race, I drove Rand Paul out of the race. I understand why they don’t like me.” A third Republican presidential candidate, Ohio Governor John Kasich, was also tentative about honoring the pledge. He told the town hall he had been “disturbed by some of the things I’ve seen” during the campaign, adding, “I want to see how this finishes out.” politicsNews
trump drops pledge back republican presidential nominee himselfwashington reuters republican donald trump tuesday abandoned pledge support party presidential nominee sign increasing friction chief rival ted cruz no i anymore trump replied asked cnn town hall event whether still supported pledge made last year support whoever republican nominee election trump signing loyalty pledge last september important helping gain credibility within republican national committee the pledge also signed rivals presidential nomination his aboutface came tries fend challenge cruz senator texas running second new york billionaire race delegates needed win nomination trump cruz enmeshed fight last week involving wives cruz superman publishing provocative photo trump former model wife melanie trump retaliation meeting unflattering photo cruz wife held cruz asked earlier cnn town hall whether also would honor pledge support nominee declined give straight answer let tell solution cruz said donald going gop nominee we going beat gop acronym grand old party nickname republican party trump said could without cruz support i watched tonight i watched tormented asked question trump told cnn moderator anderson cooper i want tormented let tell i want support i need support i want trump also said recognized several dropped race might harbor ill feelings towards mentioning former florida governor jeb bush wisconsin governor scott walker senator rand paul kentucky walker endorsed cruz earlier tuesday wisconsin primary vote coming april i drove race trump said walker abandoned presidential bid last autumn i drove jeb bush race i drove rand paul race i understand like a third republican presidential candidate ohio governor john basic also tentative honoring pledge he told town hall disturbed things i seen campaign adding i want see finishes politicsnews
Your task is to classify the provided input as real or fake news. Label 0 is meant for fake news, Label 1 is for real news. TEXT: Trump drops pledge to back Republican presidential nominee other than himselfWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday abandoned a pledge to support a party presidential nominee other than himself, a sign of increasing friction with chief rival Ted Cruz. “No, I don’t anymore,” Trump replied, when asked at a CNN town hall event whether he still supported a pledge he made last year to support whoever is the Republican nominee for the Nov. 8 election. Trump’s signing of a loyalty pledge last September was important in helping him gain credibility within the Republican National Committee. The pledge was also signed by all his rivals for the presidential nomination. His aboutface came as he tries to fend off a challenge from Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas who is running second to the New York billionaire in the race for the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination. Trump and Cruz were enmeshed in a fight last week involving their wives, with a Cruz SuperPAC publishing a provocative photo of Trump’s former model wife, Melania, and Trump retaliating by tweeting an unflattering photo of Cruz’s wife, Heidi. Cruz, asked earlier at the CNN town hall whether he also would honor the pledge to support the nominee if it was not himself, declined to give a straight answer. “Let me tell you my solution to that,” Cruz said. “Donald is not going to be the GOP nominee. We’re going to beat him.”  GOP is the acronym for Grand Old Party, a nickname for the Republican Party. Trump said he could do without Cruz’s support. “I watched him tonight and I watched how tormented he was when you asked him that question,” Trump told CNN moderator Anderson Cooper. “I don’t want to have him be tormented. Let me just tell you I don’t want his support, I don’t need his support. I don’t want him to be uncomfortable.” Trump also said he recognized that several of those who have dropped out of the race might harbor ill feelings towards him, mentioning former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Walker endorsed Cruz earlier on Tuesday, with Wisconsin’s primary vote coming up on April 5. “I drove him out of the race,” Trump said of Walker, who abandoned his presidential bid last autumn. “I drove Jeb Bush out of the race, I drove Rand Paul out of the race. I understand why they don’t like me.” A third Republican presidential candidate, Ohio Governor John Kasich, was also tentative about honoring the pledge. He told the town hall he had been “disturbed by some of the things I’ve seen” during the campaign, adding, “I want to see how this finishes out.” politicsNews
Your task is to classify the provided input as real or fake news. Label 0 is meant for fake news, Label 1 is for real news. TEXT: trump drops pledge back republican presidential nominee himselfwashington reuters republican donald trump tuesday abandoned pledge support party presidential nominee sign increasing friction chief rival ted cruz no i anymore trump replied asked cnn town hall event whether still supported pledge made last year support whoever republican nominee election trump signing loyalty pledge last september important helping gain credibility within republican national committee the pledge also signed rivals presidential nomination his aboutface came tries fend challenge cruz senator texas running second new york billionaire race delegates needed win nomination trump cruz enmeshed fight last week involving wives cruz superman publishing provocative photo trump former model wife melanie trump retaliation meeting unflattering photo cruz wife held cruz asked earlier cnn town hall whether also would honor pledge support nominee declined give straight answer let tell solution cruz said donald going gop nominee we going beat gop acronym grand old party nickname republican party trump said could without cruz support i watched tonight i watched tormented asked question trump told cnn moderator anderson cooper i want tormented let tell i want support i need support i want trump also said recognized several dropped race might harbor ill feelings towards mentioning former florida governor jeb bush wisconsin governor scott walker senator rand paul kentucky walker endorsed cruz earlier tuesday wisconsin primary vote coming april i drove race trump said walker abandoned presidential bid last autumn i drove jeb bush race i drove rand paul race i understand like a third republican presidential candidate ohio governor john basic also tentative honoring pledge he told town hall disturbed things i seen campaign adding i want see finishes politicsnews