Donald Trump needs to tone down his campaign and lock up the 1,237 delegates he needs to secure the GOP presidential nomination before the Republican convention this July, or the party will not name him as its nominee, and he should consider the events of last week as a "wake-up call," billionaire Steve Forbes warned Monday.
"If Trump is not at the 1,237, or more than 100 off of that, he won't get the nomination," Forbes told
CNN's "New Day" program. "I think it is at the point now where there are so many people in the party."
Watch the video here.
Trump's nearest rival, Ted Cruz, however, "has been good" at making sure who the delegates are going in, said Forbes, and Trump needs to aim his efforts at toning down his campaign and attracting people who may be leaning toward him.
"The people leaning toward him like the idea of somebody going in from the outside, kicking things around, [but] they need to be persuaded," said Forbes. "That's what he's got to do, and it's fluid enough where he could still do it."
But Trump's missteps, including his comments about women and abortion and then his clarification, cause problems, said Forbes.
However, Forbes said Cruz also needs to step up his own game, but Trump has been "very good at relying on his gut and he defied all expectations."
However, said Forbes, voters are ready for more substantial words from the front-runner.
"You're past the toss-up stage," Forbes said. "You have to do more speeches where people hear you are taking this thing seriously. You have to get substance out there."
And he does believe Trump can make the change, and that he "obviously has discipline."
"You don't get buildings up by being ill-disciplined," said Forbes. "On the campaign trail part of the initial charm was he would toss these things off. That's going to continue but on major issues like what you do with NATO, especially with Russia and China and Asia in an aggressive mood, to toss off these things like you are talking about how to pave streets in Madison, Wisconsin, it is a very different thing."
But Forbes did not answer if Trump would get his vote if he changes his actions, because, he said, "I think he wouldn't get the nomination."
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