--- title: Donald Trump Must Change His Tone, Republican Chairman Says description: Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Friday that Donald Trump is not the head of the Republican Party canonical: https://time.com/4320777/donald-trump-republican-reince-priebus-tone/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-06T13:40:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:30.513Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Must Change His Tone: GOP Chairman og:description: Trump is not the head of the Republican Party, GOP Chairman Reince Priebus says og:url: https://time.com/4320777/donald-trump-republican-reince-priebus-tone/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt319bb9871f4837bf/69889220f887dc785de95bf9/reince-priebus.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: GOP Presidential Candidates Attend CPAC Conference In Washington DC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Must Change His Tone: GOP Chairman twitter:description: Trump is not the head of the Republican Party, GOP Chairman Reince Priebus says twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt319bb9871f4837bf/69889220f887dc785de95bf9/reince-priebus.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Must Change His Tone, GOP Chairman Says > Sponsored content. 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We're tracking Trump statements with Time's Presidential-o-Meter to see how "Presidentially Correct" he can sound._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller May 6, 2016 1:40 PM UTC  Chairman of the Republican National Committee Reince Priebus on March 4, 2016 in National Harbor, Md. Chairman of the Republican National Committee Reince Priebus on March 4, 2016 in National Harbor, Md. Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller May 6, 2016 1:40 PM UTC Republican National Committee Chairman [Reince Priebus ](http://time.com/4316824/republican-party-donald-trump-ted-cruz-indiana-convention-primary/)said Friday that [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4320484/donald-trump-west-virginia-primary-stay-home/) is not the head of the[ Republican Party](http://time.com/4319631/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-republican-officials-leaders/), while calling on the presumptive nominee to do more to change his tone to reach out to minority voters this fall. Hours after [House Speaker Paul Ryan refused to embrace Trump](http://time.com/4320139/donald-trump-paul-ryan-republican-party/), Priebus, who has appealed for GOP unity, acknowledged that significant gaps remain between Trump and the Republican Party on policy and style. Priebus said the GOP does not endorse Trump’s call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration and said Trump must adjust the way he presents himself to the Latino community. “It’s not something that I believe in or our party believes in,” Priebus said of the Muslim ban. “I believe our party is the party of the open door. Our party is the party of opportunity and freedom and equality and it always will remain such.” A longtime Ryan ally, Priebus said he thought the Speaker was “being honest about how he feels” about Trump, while expressing confidence that Ryan will ultimately back the party’s nominee. He added that he is helping to broker a meeting between Ryan and Trump next week to start bridging the divide. Trump called Priebus within minutes of Ryan’s critical comments Thursday to express concern and to discuss how to best win Ryan over. Speaking at a Politico breakfast in Washington, Priebus said Donald Trump is not the head of the Republican Party. “It’s the party’s party,” he said. Priebus said he believes Trump understands that he has to adjust his tone for the general election, saying that behind closed doors Trump is “far more gracious and personable than I think you see at rallies.” “You also need to have the tone at the top that people obviously believe that you like them,” Priebus said of reaching out to minority voters. “Because if they don’t think you like them, they aren’t going to vote for you. I think there’s work to do. I think there’s work on tone to do. I’ve been clear about that.” Asked about Trump’s tweet of a taco bowl on Cinco de Mayo, which provoked an internet backlash, Priebus said he thinks that was an effort on Trump’s part to broaden his appeal. “He’s trying,” Priebus said with a laugh. “Honestly I think he’s trying. And I honestly think he understands that building and unifying and growing the party is the only way we’re going to win.” Acknowledging that many conservatives are still wary of his nomination, Priebus said it would be a “smart thing” for Trump to release five to 10 names he would consider for the Supreme Court to allay those concerns. Reflecting on the nominating process, Priebus said he believes that in the next cycle the RNC will have “even more control” of the system. After taking over the debate calendar in unprecedented fashion, Priebus said he’d like to move to a system where the party owns the rights to the nominating process and sells them to television networks like professional sports leagues. Priebus, who has served three consecutive terms as RNC chairman, didn’t rule out seeking a record fourth term in January. ## Transcript So there have been reports that you've been getting pressure from your staff to act more presidential, is that the case? Do you need to act more presidential? No, no, not at all. We have had no pressure to act more presidential. The Trump administration will lead a free world. Sir, with all due respect, that's the argument of a five year old. I didn't start it. That is properly armed and funded. Every parent knows a kid who says he- That's not a five year old. Excuse me, when I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second class citizen will end. Now I have a lot of friends, by the way, Mitt Romney is not one of them. Did he choke? I would like to talk today about how to develop a new foreign policy direction for our country. We can't continue to allow. To rape our country. One that replaces randomness with purpose. Ideology with strategy and chaos with peace. Here's a guy, throwing punches, nasty as hell, screaming at everything else. I'd like to punch him in the face. The countries we are defending must pay For the cost of this defense. We're gonna knock the **** out of ISIS. [ APPLAUSE ] Gonna knock the **** out of them. Governor Kasich and Senator Cruz have really, really hurt themselves. Somebody has to be where the belt's going in because the belt moves this way. It moves this way. [ LAUGH ] It moves that way. We have won millions of more votes than Senator Cruz, a lying Ted, lying. He's a lying guy! I felt that I had to hit back very hard, but at the right time I will be so presidential you will be so bored. 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