Donald Trump Likes Winning More Than Quitting

The Republican nominee has always been more a "you're fired" guy than the "I quit" sort. However, that could all change if the rumblings in political circles turn out to be true. It may, of course, just be wishful thinking, but the RNC is currently preparing contingency plans just in case their presidential pick quits. Would he actually do that? These Donald Trump quotes about quitting make it clear how he feels about dropping out.

The rumors started with ABC News reporter Jon Karl on Good Morning America:

I am told that RNC chairman Reince Priebus is furious, that he has had multiple discussions with Trump telling him he needs to drastically change course. But here’s the news, I am told senior officials at the party are actively exploring what would happen if Trump dropped out, how to replace him on the ballot.

Shocking, right? Most of the pundits don't see it being very likely. Ed Kilgore for New York Magazine's Daily Intelligencer pointed out why: "We’ve heard about his demise too many times to overreact to every report that his candidacy is dead or dying, particularly after a mere four or five days of disastrous missteps." Sure, they've been bad. But bad — or offensive, outrageous, etc. — is more or less the status quo of the Trump campaign. Plus, he has said a thing or two about quitting over the years. Winning is pretty important to him, if you didn't know.

These eight quotes from Trump show exactly how he feels about quitting:

1. Quitting Means No Winning

Trump tweeted this quote from football player, coach, and NFL executive Vince Lombardi: “Winners never quit and quitters never win.” So safe to say he generally doesn't endorse something like dropping out.

2. Successful People Don't Quit

Again Trump took to his favorite medium to explain his thoughts on the matter: "I have never met a successful person that was a quitter. Successful people never, ever, give up!" He surely considers himself among the successful.

3. Unless You're Sexually Harassed

There is, of course, a caveat. When he was asked in a USA Today interview about the possibility of his daughter Ivanka being sexually harassed at work, he said he hopes she would quit. "I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case," Trump told the paper. That would potentially apply to Trump, too, but don't get any ideas, Priebus.

4. But Really, Trump's Not Dropping Out

To clear things up in December, he got really intense about the matter. Here's what Trump said in an interview with two Washington Post reporters while waving his arm over his head "as if to clear away everything and remove all doubt":

Trump: I will never leave the race.Ginsberg: You will never leave the race?Trump: Are you ready? I. Will. Never. Leave. This. Race.

5. Not Even For $150 Million

The same held true as recently as June. A former Trump adviser told Politico, "I bet if someone offered him $150 million to drop out, he would." That did not go over well. Here was Trump's response, sent through his former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski:

I will never leave the race, nobody has enough money to pay me to leave the race, and if they did, it would be totally illegal anyway. Did Obama and the Clintons get you to write this garbage?

6. If Anything, He'd Win First And Then Quit

In an interview in July, he was asked if he'd ever consider putting in his resignation after winning — just to prove he could win. His response? "I’ll let you know how I feel about it after it happens."

That's literally what he told the New York Times reporter. As this article explains, it would be a yuge mess, which is totally Trump.

7. He's A Survivor, If Not Exactly Destiny's Child

This pearl came from his 1990 book, Trump: Surviving At The Top:

It’s not that I’ve suffered a knockout blow. Far from it. But after a long winning streak I’m being tested under pressure. I’ve also been in the public eye long enough so that the pendulum has swung, and many of the same media people who once put me on a pedestal now can’t wait for me to fall off. People like a hero, a Golden Boy, but many like a fallen hero even better. That was a fact of life long before I came along, and I can handle it. I know that, whatever happens, I’m a survivor — a survivor of success, which is a very rare thing indeed.

8. But Then Again, Maybe There's A Small Chance

Trump gave perhaps the biggest hint way back in October at what it would take for him to drop out of the GOP primary: It was poll numbers. In an interview on NBC's Meet The Press, Trump said: "I'm not a masochist. If I was dropping in the polls where I saw that I wasn't going to win, why would I continue?"

But the Republicans probably shouldn't hedge their bets on this one. Part of his answer went on to imply that if media started to ignore him because he had no chance of winning, that would play into his decision. Given that he's the nominee, that's not going to happen. So, sorry folks, if these quotes are any clue, he's probably here until the election.