RNC's Priebus declares Trump 'a role model'

With Sen. Kelly Ayotte squirming after referring to Donald Trump as a "role model" on the debate stage Monday night, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus declared on Tuesday that there's no question the billionaire is a "winner."

Priebus said that Trump’s journey through business and life provides the type of story that children can look up to.


“You know, I think everyone's a role model in different ways,” Priebus told Fox News’ Bret Baier before Tuesday’s first and only vice presidential debate. “When you look at someone who has built businesses, lost businesses, came back, lived the American dream, a person who sets goals, he's a winner.”

The question came on the heels of Ayotte backtracking after initially saying about Trump during her debate against New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, "I think that certainly there are many role models that we have, and I believe he can serve as president."

Ayotte, who has not officially endorsed Trump, later said in a statement, “I misspoke tonight,” adding, "While I would hope all of our children would aspire to be president, neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton have set a good example, and I wouldn’t hold up either of them as role models for my kids.”

According to Priebus, everyone has the essence of a role model. “I think all of us in different ways are role models,” he said. There are some things I'm good at. There are some things you're good at. I think we're all God's children and we all have good in all of us."

Later in the interview, Priebus defended Donald Trump’s temperament by saying that Hillary Clinton has sold out taxpayers while Trump built his fortune “by himself.”

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Trump’s father lent him $14 million — a value of $31 million in today's dollars, citing a 1985 casino-license disclosure.