Trump to GOP leaders: ‘You gotta be cool’

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump called on Republican leaders to get “tougher” and “be cool” on Saturday but added that he’ll win the presidency without them if he needs to.

{mosads}During a rally in Pittsburgh, Pa., Trump repeatedly described the GOP as “staid” and said his candidacy has made the party more exciting.

“Now I have to say this; I say it to the leaders of the Republican Party: Folks, you gotta get tougher, you gotta be tougher, you gotta be strong,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of losses. We’ve lost a lot of these presidential elections over the last long period of time.  

“I’ll be honest, I’m talking about for them because I think I’m going to win anyway,” he added. “I don’t want to do it that way.”

Trump suggested it may be better for his campaign to keep its distance from establishment Republicans but said he’d still like to see changes in the party higher-ups.

“I’m not even sure it’s not better for me, but I’d like to see the Republican leadership get very strong, very sharp, very smart and be cool,” he said. “You gotta be cool, but we’re winning either way. We are going to win either way and we’re going to set this country back on course.”

Trump has few enthusiastic supporters among the party’s leaders, and both Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.) and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) have condemned his controversial comments about a Mexican-American federal judge and have expressed tepid support for their presumptive nominee.