Washington, August 21 (RHC)-- Republican U.S. presidential pre-candidate Donald Trump has declined to rule out a third party presidential run, saying he might contest as an independent if denied the GOP nomination.

The Republican presidential hopeful told ABC News that he could choose a third-party run if the Republican Party doesn’t mistreat him. “It’s absolutely possible that at some point I would change that,” Trump said, but he added, such a change “is not imminent.”

Trump remains the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination following a controversial debate in which the billionaire businessman refused to pledge loyalty to the eventual GOP nominee.

During the first major GOP debate for the 2016 presidential elections, Trump had a fiery exchange with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly. Trump stirred more controversy when he said on CNN that Kelly “had blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her —wherever” during the debate, implying that she was on her period.

However, NBC News on-line poll shows that Trump is still at the top of the list of the crowded GOP field, with 23 percent support among likely Republican voters. Trump’s closest rival, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, has 13 percent of the primary votes, according to the survey.

Trump told NBC News that the poll results are not surprising for him and that most probably he will get the Republican nomination. “My life has not been about losing,” Trump said. “I’ve won all my life. Why wouldn’t I win now?"