Donald Trump's former campaign adviser Roger Stone warned the Republican party on Friday that should it continue to treat Trump unfairly and deprive him of a "level playing field," the real estate mogul will run as an Independent -- and the GOP will be the ones to suffer.
"If he does [run as an Independent], you know what could happen? The Democrats would probably win, Trump would run a close second and the Republicans would run third. They can then go the way of the Whigs," Stone said.
For that reason, Republicans -- and "the entire power establishment," for that matter -- are "petrified" of Trump, according to Stone. He argues this fear has only been exacerbated by Trump's exorbitant wealth, which enables his platform to be entirely self-directed, without impetus for compromise.
"You can't buy Trump. You can't bully Trump," he said. "And yes, the political class -- the ruling class -- they are apoplectic because they can't get to Trump."
Watch more from Roger Stone's conversation with HuffPost Live here.
Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live's new morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before!
Also on HuffPost:
