Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said he will never leave the 2016 race despite increasing calls for him to step aside.
The White House said Mr Trump was “disqualified” after he said the US should stop allowing Muslims from entering the country.
Just before making that statement, he told the Washington Post he would not step aside no matter what happens.
Other contenders in the 2016 race condemned his comments about Muslims.
He also alluded to running as an independent in atweet linking to a USA Today poll which found 68% of his supporters would vote for him if he left the Republican party.
Concerned that Mr Trump could run as an independent, Republican leaders persuaded the New York businessman to pledge to support the eventually nominee.
However, Mr Trump has threatened to leave the Republican party before if he was not “treated fairly”.
Party officials fear an third-party Trump campaign would spilt the Republican vote, and give Democrats a winning advantage.
Although Mr Trump has consistently led in national polls for several months, a majority of voters view him unfavourably.
Many political analysts believe the large number of Republican candidates is one of the reasons Mr Trump had led the polls and that Mr Trump would perform differently once the race consolidated.
Mr Trump’s comments about Muslims came after the deadly shootings in San Bernardino, California.
He called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”, not backing down even after receiving wide criticism.
A Muslim couple, believed to have been radicalised, killed 14 people at a health centre and left scores injured.
Former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush called Mr Trump “unhinged”. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said his comments were contrary to American values.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he regards comments made by Mr Trump as “divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong”.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in a tweet that Mr Trump’s call was “an attack on democratic values” and an “affront to common humanity”.
Mr Trump also claimed that parts of London were “so radicalised the police are afraid for their lives”.
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson responded by saying the “ill-informed comments are complete and utter nonsense”.
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By: BBC