republican party. it s un-american and unconstitutional. it defies everything this country was based on, and the it s just wrong. reporter: trump pushed back saying some of his fellow republicans were grand standing. when i came out against illegal immigration, everybody fought the same way. two weeks later, everybody was on my side. reporter: the international outcry intensifies. benjamin netanyahu said he rejects plans to block muslims. trump is set to meet with netanyahu later this month. the prime minister is now facing pressure to cancel the meeting. on the campaign trail today, rival republicans hope the fallout will loosen trump s grip on the race. mr. trump is not a serious person or candidate. he s inflammatory and he makes the task for the next president
his muslim friends. trump told don lemon he s acting in the best interest of the islamic community. meanwhi meanwhile, fellow republicans are blasting his proposal, leading trump to think he can lead as an independent. if they don t treat me with a certain amount of respect, if they don t treat me as the front-runner, by far the front-runner, if the playing field is not level, then certainly all options are open. now, while donald trump maintains he s going to win the republican nomination, conspiracy si theorists have a wildly different idea. and it involves hillary clinton. reporter: democrat hillary clinton, republican donald trump. fierce front running foes, but some say hold on.
i don t think so. i don t think so. reporter: islamaphobe? not at all. many people are on edge about trump s comments. as well as the impact his running as an independent could have on the race. trump says the party attackers are trying to get attention for himself. we have more. donald trump is on a roll. so far, an unstoppable one. i m leading every single poll, and nationwide, i m leading in every one of them. obviously i m happy where i am. reporter: that s what worries many republicans. the gop ranks are rattled over trump s proposal to ban muslims from entering the country. afraid it would threaten their congressional majority. the first indian governor of carolina said his comments were damaging to the gop. it s an embarrassment to the
entering the united states. trump spoke at length to don lemon about that as well as accusations he s a bigot. if they don t treat me with a certain amount of respect, if they don t treat me as the front-runner, by far the front-runner, if the playing field is not level, then certainly all options are open. but that s nothing i want to do. reporter: how will you know that? i think i ll know that over a period of a number of months. i ll make a determination. i would imagine they would treat me properly because i m leading by a lot. the pledge is you keep your word if they keep theirs. i want to run as a republican. reporter: here s my question. i asked you last time, and some people were shocked. if you were racist. are you? i am the least racist person that you have ever met. i am the least racist person. are you bigoted in any way?
harder. reporter: people fear trump at the top of the ticket could hurt their party. it s not going to help us win the general election in november. we wouldn t win ohio with that kind of message. reporter: yet some republicans are also unwilling to agitate trump. fearful of him running as a third party candidate. a possibility he raised again today with don lemon. reporter: are you going to break this pledge? it s unlikely but it s a two-way street. reporter: trump can be a sore loser. he lost today as person of the year. awarded to angela merkel. it prompted trump to tweet this. i told you time magazine would never pick me as person of the year, despite being the big favorite. they big the person who s ruining germany. reporter: when you talk to republican leaders like the ohio state chairman, they worry trump could damage the party s chances of heading onto the senate and winning the white house.