Off S.C. win, Trump predicts he’ll face Hillary in November
Both have won two of their first three qualifying heats and are on track to win their fourth – for Trump in Nevada on Tuesday and for Clinton in SC on Saturday.
The battle between them has grown increasingly close in recent weeks, with the former secretary of state expected to win Nevada in double digits just weeks ago. Marco Rubio, not Ted Cruz.
“Our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten Donald Trump and that can beat Donald Trump”, Cruz said on NBC’s “Meet the Press”.
Surveying the scenario, many GOP leaders are dismayed – and in denial.
“I’m competing against professional politicians”, Trump said on CBS’s “Face the Nation”.
The candidates’ diverging flight plans demonstrated how the campaign spreads out and speeds up now.
‘I think the lawyers have to determine that – and not – it was a retweet, not so much with Marco, ‘ Trump said, seemingly pointing to the fact that the tweet mentioned Cruz too.
‘And I’m going to spend all my time talking about what this campaign should be about, ‘ Rubio added. Clinton said on CNN’s “State of the Union”. “People are not going to die on the streets of any city or of any place if I’m president”. “We look forward to him criss- crossing the state”. He acknowledged that while he has made gains on Clinton, “at the end of the day… you need delegates”.
Trump, now the clear leader in the delegate race, cemented his standing as his party’s favorite.
When Stephanopoulos repeatedly asked Trump about his retweet this morning, the billionaire, who was basking in the glow of his SC win, tried to wiggle out of affirming that Rubio was indeed eligible. “It’s lovely – when you win it’s attractive”. “Running for president, there’s nothing easy about it”, he said in his victory speech on Saturday. But those fortunes didn’t extend to Sanders this weekend.
Clinton stopped the Vermont senator’s momentum from his landslide victory in New Hampshire on February 9th by showing the strength of her ground operation to get the voters out and draw on loyal minority voters – Latinos working on the Las Vegas Strip – in the most populated area of the state around America’s gambling capital. Jeb Bush showed leadership by getting out.
A string of victories for Clinton and Trump in Super Tuesday contests would give them commanding leads in the delegate race, dampening prospects for their rivals to catch up. Clinton has 503 to Sanders’ 70, including party officials known as superdelegates who back the candidate of their choice.
This isn’t the first time Trump has raised citizenship doubts about an opponent. Rubio, however, says this is a different election and GOP history doesn’t count when the field was so crowded.
This is not about going after Donald Trump, it isn’t. Texas conservative firebrand Mr Cruz has the only other win, after victory in Iowa.