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 Donald Trump has signed the Republican National Committee's pledge to endorse the eventual GOP nominee in 2016 and forgo a run as a third-party candidate in the general election. 
 
 "I will be totally pledging my allegiance to the Republican Party and the conservative principles for which it stands" he said at a press conference in New York City. "And we will go out and we will fight hard and we will win." 
 
 Trump added that the RNC has been "absolutely terrific" and "fair" since he became a presidential candidate. 
 
 "I see no circumstances under which I would tear up that pledge," he said. 
 
 In a paper statement released after the announcement, Trump said "This is far and away the best way to secure victory against the Democrats in November 2016. I am leading in all local and national polls --- my whole life has been about winning and this is what must be done in order to win the election and, most importantly, to Make America Great Again!" 
 
 Earlier Thursday, Trump met with Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus to discuss the agreement. The RNC had privately reached out to other Republican candidates in recent days to gauge their support for such a pledge. 
 
 But the promise holds specific importance for Trump, who has upended the GOP establishment by surging to the top of primary polls despite holding some policy positions considered outside of the party's orthodoxy. 
 
 National polls show that a Trump independent run could garner double-digit support in a general election matchup, virtually guaranteeing a split in the Republican vote that would vault the Democratic nominee to the White House. 
 
 At the first Republican debate on August 6, Trump was the only candidate who refused to say he would not run as a third-party candidate if he did not win the Republican nomination. 
 
 The RNC pledge is not the only such agreement Trump's team has been mulling. 
 
 Last week, the South Carolina Republican Party announced that candidates must agree to a party loyalty pledge by September 30 in order to qualify for the state's primary ballot. ||||| Business mogul and presidential candidate Donald Trump announced he signed the loyalty pledge that the Republican National Committee has demanded of its candidates during a news conference at Trump Tower in Manhattan. (Reuters) 
 
 GOP front-runner Donald Trump signed a formal pledge crafted by the Republican National Committee that he will not run for president as an independent if he doesn't win the party's nomination. 
 
 Which is fine. And a good thing for the RNC, which deserves credit for navigating the murky waters of Trumpworld. 
 
 But there is absolutely no reason to think that simply by the act of signing this pledge, Trump will somehow be legally bound to not run as anything but a Republican in 2016. He won't be. 
 
 This pledge is not, as my colleague Bob Costa notes, a legally binding document. It's like the sort of pledge you get your kids to sign that they will do their homework, make their beds and eat their vegetables before they can play with your iPhone. It's a statement of intention, but not a binding one. 
 
 Do I think Trump is secretly plotting a third party bid if he winds up not winning the Republican nomination? No, not at present. Do I think that Trump believes that he will be bound by this pledge from running if he decides that's what he wants to do? Absolutely not. 
 
 
 
 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listens during a news conference Aug. 27 after speaking at the TD Convention Center in Greenville, S.C. (Richard Shiro/AP) 
 
 What in Trump's relatively short time as a presidential candidate (or much longer time as a person who takes positions on various issues) suggests that he would feel at all compelled to abide by a pledge put together by the head of a party that he is a) only a relatively recent convert to and b) can't really hurt him, financially or otherwise, if he decides to break it? 
 
 Trump's entire candidacy is premised on how he doesn't owe anyone anything and how no one can tell him what to do. So, for the moment, it's in Trump's interest to play nice with the GOP establishment -- since it might allay some fears of voters who are thinking about being for him but wonder if he is, actually, one of them. 
 
 But if Trump, at any point over the next few months, feels hard done by the GOP establishment -- or if his poll numbers begin to fade -- is there anything in what he will sign today that keeps him from breaking the pledge not to run? No. 
 
 Yes, Trump would have to answer for his broken pledge among some Republican voters who took him at his word. But given Trump's anti-establishment message, there would almost certainly be a big chunk of disaffected Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who would likely take his side in a fight with the national party. 
 
 Point is: This is a good day for the RNC, which is showing its ability to bring some order to what has been a wild race to date. But don't assume that Donald Trump signing a piece of paper in front of a bunch of cameras is anything more than a nicely-turned bit of political theater. Because, well, it isn't. ||||| Donald Trump announced Thursday he has signed a GOP pledge not to run as an independent in 2016, after a personal appeal from the Republican Party chairman. 
 
 "I have signed the pledge," Trump said, holding it up. 
 
 The decision by the Republican presidential front-runner helps ease concerns among party leadership that an outside Trump bid -- should he not win the nomination -- could threaten the party's chances in the general election by peeling off votes. 
 
 The party began circulating the pledge to virtually all the Republican campaigns earlier this week. But Trump was the obvious concern. He had been the only one who did not raise his hand when the 10 top-polling candidates were asked at last month's Fox News debate whether they'd commit not to mount an independent White House bid. 
 
 Trump, after meeting Thursday with party boss Reince Priebus, said the chairman has been "extremely fair." 
 
 "I just wanted fairness from the Republican Party," Trump said. After holding up the pledge, he said, "I will be totally pledging my allegiance to the Republican Party, and the conservative principles for which it stands." 
 
 Trump said he got nothing in return, and sees no circumstances under which he would "tear up that pledge." There was one hang-up, though: the pledge form Trump held up had the wrong date on it, reading Aug. 3, 2015. 
 
 The pledge states in part that if the GOP contender does not become the nominee: "I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is," and "I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party." 
 
 The Associated Press reported that RNC officials had been working privately with Trump's campaign for several weeks to avert the possibility of Trump making an independent run. 
 
 On Thursday night, the RNC announced that all 17 GOP presidential candidates signed the pledge. 
 
 The pledge followed Virginia and South Carolina GOP state parties making a similar pledge effort. 
 
 Fox News' Serafin Gomez, Jessica O'Hara and Patrick Manning and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| The GOP is taking its most aggressive step yet to force Donald Trump's hand. 
 
 The Republican National Committee on Wednesday privately reached out to GOP presidential candidates to ask whether they’d be willing to sign a pledge stating they would not run as an independent candidate in the event they fail to win the Republican nomination in 2016. 
 
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 The move is an implicit challenge to Trump, who pointedly refused to rule out a third-party run during the first GOP debate. He was the only candidate who declined. 
 
 The language of the draft pledge speaks directly to the issue vexing Republicans – the possibility that the billionaire could choose to wage a third party bid if he fails to win the GOP nomination, a prospect that could seriously damage the GOP’s prospects of reclaiming the White House. Tapping into deep anti-establishment animosity among the conservative grassroots, Trump has surged to the lead of the deepest presidential field in recent memory. If Trump were to pull just a fraction of the vote as an independent, write-in or third party candidate, it could be enough to sink the eventual Republican nominee. 
 
 “I [name] affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for president of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is,” the pledge reads. “I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party.” 
 
 
 
 At least two campaigns reported Wednesday that they received a call from Katie Walsh, RNC chief of staff, asking if they would be willing to sign such a pledge. 
 
 An RNC spokeswoman, Allison Moore, declined to comment. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. 
 
 Trump and RNC chairman Reince Priebus are slated to meet in New York City on Thursday, a Trump spokeswoman confirmed. The two are also expected to appear at a press conference. 
 
 The relationship between the RNC and Trump has been fraught with tension since Trump joined the race this summer. Trump’s incendiary remarks about Mexicans and immigration have alarmed top Republicans who fear it will further alienate the fast-growing demographic and embarrass the party, leading Priebus to reach out to the billionaire in an attempt to convince him to tone down his rhetoric. But Trump turned the tables on Priebus and gave a contradictory account, insisting that the RNC chairman merely acknowledged that he had “hit a nerve” with the electorate. 
 
 Since then, with the billionaire mogul dominating the race for the party’s nomination, Republicans have taken a wary approach. Priebus virtually went dark on Trump following the real estate mogul’s pushback, declining to further fuel the discussion with public remarks. (Scheduled to make a post-debate appearance on CBS Face the Nation, Priebus abruptly pulled out after it became clear that the story of the weekend was Trump’s diatribe against Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.) 
 
 At first, the only candidates willing to confront Trump in a concerted fashion were those who did so out of a desperate need to remain relevant – the class of Trump antagonists largely consisted of the candidates struggling to make it into the Aug. 6 primetime debate. Since then, though, as rival campaigns became more convinced that Trump’s candidacy was more than a passing comet and destined to last through the early-voting states, more candidates have shown a willingness to criticize him. 
 
 In recent days, Jeb Bush has tangled frequently with Trump, responding to the businessman’s harsh attacks on him. 
 
 Other elements of the Republican Party have reckoned with Trump’s candidacy through ballot access requirements also designed to force Trump to play by party rules. GOP leaders in Virginia and North Carolina discussed implementing a new requirement for candidates to qualify for their primary ballots: that they pledge to support the Republican presidential nominee — and not run as a third-party candidate — in the general election. 
 
 Last week, the South Carolina Republican Party announced that candidates who want to qualify for the state’s primary ballot must sign a loyalty oath by Sept. 30. Candidates were asked to state that they “generally believe in and intend to support the nominees and platform of the Republican Party in the November 8, 2016 general election.” 
 
 Trump has said that he is still weighing whether to agree to the South Carolina pledge. 
 
 Ben Schreckinger contributed to this report.
– Donald Trump has come to heel, agreeing to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee and not run as a third-party candidate, the AP reports. Despite being the only candidate to publicly mull a third-party run during the August GOP primary debate, Trump signed a party loyalty pledge today. The pledge was circulated by the Republican National Committee to all candidates. Prior to Trump agreeing to the loyalty pledge, sources tell CNN, most supporters calling into his campaign about the pledge wanted Trump not to sign. While the pledge is not a legally binding document, Trump says he sees "no circumstance under which I would tear up that pledge," FOX News and NBC report. According to the AP, a third-party run would have made the path to the presidency much easier for the eventual Democratic candidate.