Priebus: 'You let the process play out'

By Jessie Hellmann - 03-20-16 10:19 AM EDT

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus in an interview Sunday dismissed the notion that presidential candidates who fall just short of the necessary number of delegates should receive the Republican nomination.

"History would show ... when someone's a little bit short, you let the process play out, and if it's that close, that's generally what happens," Priebus said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has predicted riots if he doesn't secure the GOP nomination, given his lead among delegates.

"I think we'll win before getting to the convention. And if we're 20 votes short or if we're 100 short, and we're at 1,100 and somebody else is at 500 or 400 ... I don't think you can say that we don't get it automatically," the billionaire said last week on CNN.

Priebus rejected that thinking, saying that when he ran for his current position, it took seven ballots before he had enough votes.

"No one gave it to me on the second or third ballot," Priebus said.