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Cruz dares Trump to file defamation lawsuit over campaign ad – live South Carolina's Nikki Haley endorses Rubio ahead of state primary – live
(35 minutes later)
7.06pm GMT
19:06
Sanders camp calls Killer Mike 'uterus' controversy 'gotcha' politics
A spokesman for Vermont senator Bernie Sanders has dismissed charges of sexism against Sanders supporter Killer Mike, the Atlanta-based rapper, as “gotcha” politics.
Speaking at a Sanders rally at Morehouse College in Atlanta on Tuesday, Killer Mike argued against the Hillary Clinton candidacy in part by quoting the activist Jane Elliott as saying, “Michael, a uterus doesn’t qualify you to be president of the United States.”
After a local reporter live-tweeted the line without the Elliott reference, the rapper was attacked on social media as sexist. That charge was amplified by the Clinton campaign, with senior communications adviser Karen Finney piling on on Twitter:
Based on her uterus? Must be ignoring @HillaryClinton lifetime of doing the work breaking down barriers for all. @KillerMike
Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said Wednesday that Killer Mike, who has been campaigning widely for the senator, “doesn’t believe gender should be a reason to vote for or against someone.”
“That’s the point Mike was making when he quoted Jane Elliott, the internationally known educator,” said Briggs. “We need to get beyond the gotcha politics and get to the issues at the heart of the election.”
“I don’t and never will Hate or think less of women,” the rapper said in a tweet referring to former Ohio state senator Nina Turner, who also spoke at the rally. “Sen. Nina Turner is my Next Great Political Champ but I’m sorry No HRC for me.”
Killer Mike, aka Michael Render, and his supporters circulated transcripts of his speech to illustrate the context of his “uterus” remark:
FYI: That @KillerMike sound bite going around is pretty dishonest. Here’s the full context. Notice what’s missing. pic.twitter.com/nRR9jXcKAX
There’s video, too:
@KillerMike here’s the clip of your full quote in context to quiet the haters pic.twitter.com/W63tyqNA1y
And here’s the full speech. Elliott herself defended the rapper in an interview with the Huffington Post, saying, “it’s a ridiculous thing to be upset about”:
I sincerely see this woman as one of my greatest teachers. Thank U #JaneElliot pic.twitter.com/l6MbWFrOZk
But others who took up the discussion, including former Guardian US columnist Jill Filipovic and others, said the context did not excuse the statement.
C'mon guys. You know "Killer Mike was just quoting a feminist!" is not an excuse. Remember when Trump "quoted" someone calling Cruz a pussy?
Filipovic compared the controversy to recent consternation in Democratic circles at comments feminist icon Gloria Steinem and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright made about young women who support Sanders.
Albright warned there was a “special place in hell” for women who don’t support other women, and Steinem suggested that young women supporting Sanders were in it for the boys. Both later apologized.
Context for Killer Mike's comments matters. So did context for Gloria and Madeleine. And yet.
Updated
at 7.13pm GMT
7.00pm GMT
19:00
Haley endorses Rubio – Post and Courier
The local paper has the scoop: popular South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has thrown her support behind Florida senator Marco Rubio, as the state’s Republicans prepare to vote Saturday.
BREAKING: Gov. Nikki Haley endorses Sen. Marco Rubio for president. #scpol #SCPrimary #chsnews pic.twitter.com/1d56EtVmLP
Haley tangled with Donald Trump after her response to Barack Obama’s state of the union address this year, in which she called on Republicans to reject the “siren call of the angriest voices.” For some reason Trump thought she was talking about him.
Updated
at 7.01pm GMT
6.27pm GMT6.27pm GMT
18:2718:27
Trump on Cruz lawsuit threat: 'Time will tell, Teddy'Trump on Cruz lawsuit threat: 'Time will tell, Teddy'
The Donald Trump campaign has responded to Ted Cruz’s challenge to Trump to make good on a defamation lawuit threat over a Cruz ad.The Donald Trump campaign has responded to Ted Cruz’s challenge to Trump to make good on a defamation lawuit threat over a Cruz ad.
“Donald I would encourage you, if you want to file a lawsuit challenging this ad, claiming it is defamation, file a lawsuit,” Cruz said at a midday news conference.“Donald I would encourage you, if you want to file a lawsuit challenging this ad, claiming it is defamation, file a lawsuit,” Cruz said at a midday news conference.
“If I want to bring a lawsuit it would be legitimate,” Trump replies, in a statement obtained by the Guardian:“If I want to bring a lawsuit it would be legitimate,” Trump replies, in a statement obtained by the Guardian:
Ted Cruz has already had one of his ads pulled off the air concerning Senator Rubio because it was totally false. Additionally, he was forced to apologize to Dr. Ben Carson for fraudulently stealing his votes in Iowa, and was embarrassed by his phony voter violation form. He is a liar and these ads and statements made by Cruz are clearly desperate moves by a guy who is tanking in the polls- watching his campaign go up in flames finally explains Cruz’s logo. I am pro-life and I do not support tax payer funding for Planned Parenthood as long as they are performing abortions. I have been clear about my position on this issue for years. I am also a strong advocate of the second amendment and a proud member of the NRA, as are my sons. I will repeal and replace ObamaCare and I would nominate a very conservative Justice to protect our freedoms and conservative values. If I want to bring a lawsuit it would be legitimate. Likewise, if I want to bring the lawsuit regarding Senator Cruz being a natural born Canadian I will do so. Time will tell, Teddy. - Donald J. TrumpTed Cruz has already had one of his ads pulled off the air concerning Senator Rubio because it was totally false. Additionally, he was forced to apologize to Dr. Ben Carson for fraudulently stealing his votes in Iowa, and was embarrassed by his phony voter violation form. He is a liar and these ads and statements made by Cruz are clearly desperate moves by a guy who is tanking in the polls- watching his campaign go up in flames finally explains Cruz’s logo. I am pro-life and I do not support tax payer funding for Planned Parenthood as long as they are performing abortions. I have been clear about my position on this issue for years. I am also a strong advocate of the second amendment and a proud member of the NRA, as are my sons. I will repeal and replace ObamaCare and I would nominate a very conservative Justice to protect our freedoms and conservative values. If I want to bring a lawsuit it would be legitimate. Likewise, if I want to bring the lawsuit regarding Senator Cruz being a natural born Canadian I will do so. Time will tell, Teddy. - Donald J. Trump
(via @bencjacobs)(via @bencjacobs)
Cruz lawyers' response to Trump's cease and desist demand--> pic.twitter.com/ufsPNT1p9pCruz lawyers' response to Trump's cease and desist demand--> pic.twitter.com/ufsPNT1p9p
UpdatedUpdated
at 6.28pm GMTat 6.28pm GMT
6.20pm GMT6.20pm GMT
18:2018:20
Our conception of how the general presidential race will look and feel is necessarily uninformed and subject to change. Many voters haven’t yet gotten to know the candidates. Minds can change depending on events or star signs or weather or who knows what. There are months to go in which any candidate may rise or plummet.Our conception of how the general presidential race will look and feel is necessarily uninformed and subject to change. Many voters haven’t yet gotten to know the candidates. Minds can change depending on events or star signs or weather or who knows what. There are months to go in which any candidate may rise or plummet.
Nonetheless, pollsters are posing questions about theoretical general election matchups to voters. USA Today / Suffolk have dropped a new poll showing Bernie Sanders out-performing Hillary Clinton:Nonetheless, pollsters are posing questions about theoretical general election matchups to voters. USA Today / Suffolk have dropped a new poll showing Bernie Sanders out-performing Hillary Clinton:
The nationwide survey, taken Thursday through Monday, underscores how formidable an opponent the 74-year-old democratic socialist has become against one of theDemocratic Party’s most established figures.The nationwide survey, taken Thursday through Monday, underscores how formidable an opponent the 74-year-old democratic socialist has become against one of theDemocratic Party’s most established figures.
USA Today/Suffolk national:Cruz 45 Clinton 44Trump 45 Clinton 43Rubio 48 Clinton 42Kasich 49 Clinton 38 https://t.co/eP3ZKg6wNtUSA Today/Suffolk national:Cruz 45 Clinton 44Trump 45 Clinton 43Rubio 48 Clinton 42Kasich 49 Clinton 38 https://t.co/eP3ZKg6wNt
6.12pm GMT6.12pm GMT
18:1218:12
Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon, has scored an endorsement from an elected official! His first, according to FiveThirtyEight’s endorsement tracker.Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon, has scored an endorsement from an elected official! His first, according to FiveThirtyEight’s endorsement tracker.
Carson gets the nod from Maryland Representative Andy Harris, a fellow doctor at Johns Hopkins known for his solitary and staunch opposition to marijuana decriminalization in Washington, DC.Carson gets the nod from Maryland Representative Andy Harris, a fellow doctor at Johns Hopkins known for his solitary and staunch opposition to marijuana decriminalization in Washington, DC.
The party decides pic.twitter.com/pVOZ7ElTNFThe party decides pic.twitter.com/pVOZ7ElTNF
5.42pm GMT5.42pm GMT
17:4217:42
Utah senator Mike Lee, possibly Cruz’s only friend in the Senate, plans to campaign in South Carolina tomorrow alongside Marco Rubio.Utah senator Mike Lee, possibly Cruz’s only friend in the Senate, plans to campaign in South Carolina tomorrow alongside Marco Rubio.
But Lee will campaign with Cruz, too, his spokesperson says.But Lee will campaign with Cruz, too, his spokesperson says.
CORRECTION: This post has been updated to reflect the fact that Lee plans to campaign in South Carolina with both Cruz and Rubio, not Rubio alone, as initially reported, which would have been a serious burn on Cruz.CORRECTION: This post has been updated to reflect the fact that Lee plans to campaign in South Carolina with both Cruz and Rubio, not Rubio alone, as initially reported, which would have been a serious burn on Cruz.
UpdatedUpdated
at 5.52pm GMTat 5.52pm GMT
5.34pm GMT5.34pm GMT
17:3417:34
Cruz: vote for Trump is vote to erase second amendmentCruz: vote for Trump is vote to erase second amendment
Cruz is kneecapping Rubio, too. “Ethics matter,” says Cruz, who spread a false rumor in Iowa that Ben Carson had dropped out of the campaign and sent mailers to voters accusing them of a “voting violation.”Cruz is kneecapping Rubio, too. “Ethics matter,” says Cruz, who spread a false rumor in Iowa that Ben Carson had dropped out of the campaign and sent mailers to voters accusing them of a “voting violation.”
Cruz says Rubio campaign is falsely accusing his team of misconduct "with zero evidence."Cruz says Rubio campaign is falsely accusing his team of misconduct "with zero evidence."
“It drives the narrative they want to sell,” Cruz says of Rubio campaign“It drives the narrative they want to sell,” Cruz says of Rubio campaign
Cruz: “Marco Rubio is behaving like Donald Trump with a smile.”Cruz: “Marco Rubio is behaving like Donald Trump with a smile.”
“The one candidate who has done a push poll is Marco Rubio,” Cruz says, adding: “Ethics matter.”“The one candidate who has done a push poll is Marco Rubio,” Cruz says, adding: “Ethics matter.”
"I am not insulting anybody," Cruz says after lengthy critique of Trump and Rubio in Seneca, SC."I am not insulting anybody," Cruz says after lengthy critique of Trump and Rubio in Seneca, SC.
“I think Justice Scalia’s passing this week elevated the stakes of this election,” Cruz says. He says South Carolina voters are asking themselves, ‘Who can I trust?’“I think Justice Scalia’s passing this week elevated the stakes of this election,” Cruz says. He says South Carolina voters are asking themselves, ‘Who can I trust?’
Cruz says that Trump’s “four decades” of writing checks for “left-wing Democrats” proves that he doesn’t care about conservative justices. “We are one justice away from the second amendment being erased from the Bill of Rights.”Cruz says that Trump’s “four decades” of writing checks for “left-wing Democrats” proves that he doesn’t care about conservative justices. “We are one justice away from the second amendment being erased from the Bill of Rights.”
In case anyone missed that, Cruz puts a finer point on it:In case anyone missed that, Cruz puts a finer point on it:
A vote for Donald Trump is a vote to erase the second amendment from the Bill of Rights.”A vote for Donald Trump is a vote to erase the second amendment from the Bill of Rights.”
5.21pm GMT5.21pm GMT
17:2117:21
Cruz to Trump: so sue meCruz to Trump: so sue me
Cruz at peak Cruz:Cruz at peak Cruz:
Even in the annals of frivolous lawsuits, this takes the cake. And so Donald I would encourage you, if you want to file a lawsuit challenging this ad, claiming it is defamation, file a lawsuit.Even in the annals of frivolous lawsuits, this takes the cake. And so Donald I would encourage you, if you want to file a lawsuit challenging this ad, claiming it is defamation, file a lawsuit.
“It is a remarkable contention that an ad that plays video of Donald Trump speaking on national television is somehow defamation.”“It is a remarkable contention that an ad that plays video of Donald Trump speaking on national television is somehow defamation.”
WATCH: @TedCruz challenges Donald Trump to follow through on alleged threat to file suit over anti-Trump ad. https://t.co/gCXS9FsiMEWATCH: @TedCruz challenges Donald Trump to follow through on alleged threat to file suit over anti-Trump ad. https://t.co/gCXS9FsiME
5.17pm GMT5.17pm GMT
17:1717:17
Cruz is going after Trump in this news conference, listing “pro-abortion Democrats” that Trump has contributed to:Cruz is going after Trump in this news conference, listing “pro-abortion Democrats” that Trump has contributed to:
Fascinating: @TedCruz staging a courtroom-style argument against @realDonaldTrump right now in front of reporters, cameras… w whiteboards!Fascinating: @TedCruz staging a courtroom-style argument against @realDonaldTrump right now in front of reporters, cameras… w whiteboards!
Mystery posters revealed: @tedcruz lists off "pro-abortion Democrats" @realDonaldTrump has given to pic.twitter.com/r57iRAnrjJMystery posters revealed: @tedcruz lists off "pro-abortion Democrats" @realDonaldTrump has given to pic.twitter.com/r57iRAnrjJ
Cruz says: "Donald Trump is a direct cause of Obamacare passing." Cites long history of contributions to Democrats.Cruz says: "Donald Trump is a direct cause of Obamacare passing." Cites long history of contributions to Democrats.
Ok but donations mostly to safe Dem seats like Rangel and Maloney https://t.co/D86w0WLcmOOk but donations mostly to safe Dem seats like Rangel and Maloney https://t.co/D86w0WLcmO
UpdatedUpdated
at 5.18pm GMTat 5.18pm GMT
5.13pm GMT5.13pm GMT
17:1317:13
Cruz reads cease-and-desist letter from Trump's lawyerCruz reads cease-and-desist letter from Trump's lawyer
At a news conference in Seneca, New Hampshire, Texas senator Ted Cruz is reading a cease-and-desist letter his campaign received from Donald Trump’s lawyer.At a news conference in Seneca, New Hampshire, Texas senator Ted Cruz is reading a cease-and-desist letter his campaign received from Donald Trump’s lawyer.
Cruz says the letter singles out an ad Cruz is running tarring Trump as pro-choice and unfit to pick the next Supreme Court justice. “We cannot trust Donald Trump with these serious decisions,” the ad says.Cruz says the letter singles out an ad Cruz is running tarring Trump as pro-choice and unfit to pick the next Supreme Court justice. “We cannot trust Donald Trump with these serious decisions,” the ad says.
On Monday, Trump threatened to sue Cruz over the senator’s eligibility for president, saying that unless his rival stops telling “lies” he will take the issue of his birth in Canada to court.On Monday, Trump threatened to sue Cruz over the senator’s eligibility for president, saying that unless his rival stops telling “lies” he will take the issue of his birth in Canada to court.
.@tedcruz reads cease and desist letter from @realDonaldTrump lawyer pic.twitter.com/atJ8CmHpTG.@tedcruz reads cease and desist letter from @realDonaldTrump lawyer pic.twitter.com/atJ8CmHpTG
Cruz says Trump campaign sent a cease-and-desist in response to the adCruz says Trump campaign sent a cease-and-desist in response to the ad
Here’s the Cruz ad:Here’s the Cruz ad:
5.06pm GMT
17:06
Will the South Carolina governor pick a horse in the South Carolina race?
The last big known unknown before SC: will @nikkihaley endorse? pic.twitter.com/YRih9Vsu0g
5.01pm GMT
17:01
Speaking of polls – hey look there’s another one, conducted in South Carolina by Monmouth University’s polling institute, which agrees with the picture everyone else has taken in the state of a big lead for Trump, just three days out.
Among voters likely to participate in South Carolina’s Republican primary on Saturday, the pollster reports, it’s:
Trump 35 – Cruz 19 – Rubio 17 – Kasich 9 – Bush 8 – Carson 7
LATEST POLL - SOUTH CAROLINA GOP: Trump winning everything and everyone (well, almost) - https://t.co/0R7DP8JFTy
That 16-point lead for Trump is close to his 17.5-point lead in the state in Real Clear Politics’ polling averages. Monmouth sees broad support for Trump across pretty much all demographic groups:
Trump is the clear favorite of voters who have not been to college (53%), but also garners the support of about 3-in-10 voters with a college education. He leads among both men (36%) and women (34%); among voters under 50 years old (34%) and those age 50 or older (35%); among voters in veterans’ households (38%) as well as non-veterans (32%); and among evangelical Christians (33%) and non-evangelicals (37%) alike. Cruz (31%) barely nips Trump (27%) among very conservative voters, but Trump enjoys the most support of any candidate among somewhat conservative (40%) and moderate (41%) voters.
Updated
at 5.27pm GMT
4.52pm GMT
16:52
Clinton leads 10 of 12 early March primaries – poll
Is Bernie Sanders a national candidate?
The question is met with indignation by Sanders supporters, who point to repeated instances so far this election cycle of Sanders upending the conventional wisdom that he’s a niche candidate: by building a huge national network of donors, by drawing crowds of thousands from New Hampshire to Nevada to Michigan, by nearly beating Hillary Clinton in Iowa after trailing there in polls by double digits, by tying Clinton in two polls of Nevada voters, and by his whopping 22-point win in New Hampshire, which Clinton won in 2008.
And yet: a new Public Policy Polling survey poses the question of Sanders’ national viability with new urgency.
The poll finds Hillary Clinton leading the way in 10 of 12 states that will vote between 1 March and 8 March. Clinton holds double-digit leads in nine of those states, according to the poll. Sanders leads only in Massachusetts and in Vermont, his home state. He appears close to Clinton in Oklahoma, which is among 14 states to vote on 1 March.
Sanders has long suffered a perceived gap with Clinton among non-white voters and voters without a college degree – groups that figure heavily in the demographics of states that will vote in early March. Clinton has vociferously challenged Sanders’ attempt in particular to close the gap with African American voters.
“You can’t just show up at election time and say the right things and think that’s enough,” Clinton said in a speech to civil rights leaders in Harlem on Tuesday. “We can’t start building relationships a few weeks before a vote.” The argument appears to be holding with South Carolina voters, who polling averages say favor Clinton by more than 20 points.
Pollsters aren’t always right (!) and the numbers can change quickly. But the emerging national picture does not appear, as the latest numbers come in, to hold obvious good news for the insurgent candidate. To which his supporters might say, see you at the voting booth.
4.11pm GMT
16:11
Ted Cruz: not a morning person
Candidates, they’re just like us! At least Texas senator Ted Cruz is, apparently. Because Cruz needs a tanker truck of coffee in the morning to succeed at basic functions such as blinking and speech, the Washington Post’s Katie Zezima entertainingly reports:
There are the emails with the 1 a.m. time stamp, dinners that start when some people go to bed and meetings that stretch late into the night. Don’t expect to see him bright and early on the campaign trail — in a field of GOP presidential candidates where 8 a.m. events happen with some regularity, Cruz starts late in the morning, often clutching a cup of coffee.
Cruz is a “night owl,” his wife Heidi says, telling voters her husband shares nocturnal tendencies with his mother.
“When he comes home from the campaign trail, they’re often in the living room talking late, late into the night” over tea, she said last month.
Enjoy the full piece here.
(h/t: @bencjacobs)
Updated
at 4.29pm GMT
4.02pm GMT
16:02
A long Bernie Sanders video spot featuring Erica Garner, the daughter of Eric Garner, the Staten Island man who died after being placed in a chokehold by police, is circulating widely in advance of the Democratic South Carolina primary in 10 days. A majority of South Carolina Democratic primary-goers are African American. Erica Garner has been appearing with Sanders on the campaign trail in the state.
“I’m behind anyone who’s going to listen and speak up for us. And I think we need to believe in a leader like Bernie Sanders,” Erica Garner says in the video. “He’s not scared to go up against the criminal justice system. He’s not scared.”
Garner tells her father’s story and about how the family has dealt with his death:
I was able to see my dad die on national TV. They don’t know what they took from us. He wasn’t just someone that no one cared for him, or no one loved him. He was loved dearly...
I’m just trying to get the truth out there to tell his side of the story. He was being the loving, caring man that he was, and he was murdered.
The spot gets an approving nod from Republican strategist Rick Wilson:
Set aside partisan considerations, but the Bernie Sanders Eric Garner ad is a damn work of art. It's brilliant, grim, and perfect.
You don't have to agree with its politics. It's an ad that combines craft, art, message, and is an emotional gut punch to his weak demo.
3.04pm GMT
15:04
Donald Trump was on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night. Well, Trump called into the show, at least. Colbert is from Charleston, South Carolina, where Republicans plan to vote – apparently a lot of them for Trump – on Saturday.
Trump calls in. Colbert asks him what he’s wearing. Trump says he’s wearing “a very beautiful blue suit with a very poor tie but the tie will get better as the day goes on.” Weird. Then Trump says he hopes South Carolina will vote for him. “We’re going to make America great again.” Colbert challenges Trump on his “potty mouth.” Trump: “I’ve decided to stop” talking dirty. “These are very minor words, and in many cases I actually bleep them out myself,” he says. Go bleep yourself? Colbert says he should keep a swear jar and every time he cusses he should put a billion dollars in there. Then Trump says the senate “has a right... not to vote on [a new Supreme Court nominee]. Look, if I was the president I’d be pushing.” Trump tries a southern accent: “Please vote for me, y’all.” Exeunt.
Updated
at 3.04pm GMT
2.34pm GMT
14:34
Cruz bears talons in hawkish South Carolina
Ben Jacobs
After being battered on national security in Iowa by Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz is taking no chances in the ultra hawkish state of South Carolina, writes Guardian political correspondent Ben Jacobs:
Proclaiming that he wants a military with “more tooth and less tail”, Cruz went on a statewide tour on Tuesday to tout his national security credentials. Starting with a speech on board the USS Yorktown, a decommissioned aircraft carrier from the second world war, the senator from Texas laid out an approach that relied on beefing up the US armed forces with occasional doses of red meat for social conservative voters.
In a campaign stop in Columbia, Cruz pledged to increase the US army’s enlistment by 75,000 troops as well as add more ships to the navy and more planes to the air force. However, he made clear that these additional soldiers would be mostly men, casting scorn upon those Republican rivals who want to “draft our daughters into combat”.
Read the full piece:
Related: Ted Cruz touts his national security experience in hawkish South Carolina
2.30pm GMT
14:30
Donald Trump for some reason is highlighting Barack Obama’s opinion that he, Trump, “will not be president” (Trump misquotes Obama as saying “never”):
Interesting how President Obama so haltingly said I "would never be president" - This from perhaps the worst president in U.S. history!
Update: South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, who is stumping this week in the state for Jeb Bush, has an opinion to share about a potential Trump nomination as the 2016 Republican presidential candidate:
If Donald Trump is the GOP nominee for President, we will get slaughtered in November 2016. And frankly, we will deserve it.
Graham means that with Trump at the top of the ticket, Republicans could lose their eight-seat senate majority and down-ballot races galore.
Update update: Twitter fight #politics:
.@lindseygraham, who had zero in his presidential run before dropping out in disgrace- saying the most horrible things about me on @FoxNews.
I will beat Hillary easily, but Lindsey Graham says I won't, and yet he got zero against me- no cred! Why does FOX put him on?
Updated
at 2.45pm GMT
2.28pm GMT
14:28
This isn’t American politics but we trust you to handle the cognitive dissonance in the name of maximum information flow to the readership:
[UPDATE: There has been some confusion registered to the presence of the Duchess of Cambridge in our American politics live blog. We apologize for the confusion. To further clarify: the below does not pertain, as far as we know, to the 2016 race for the White House™. Rather it is something we saw on the Internet that we thought you, our readers, might like to see too. Did we misjudge you? Does this picture ruin, for you, what otherwise is a pleasing narrative politics blog thread? Let us know in the comments! – T.M.]
Say, "Delete your account, lol." (Getty) pic.twitter.com/uBb041ZUZK
Here’s what’s actually happening in this photo, per AP: ‘Kate, Duchess of Cambridge talks with the Executive Editor of the Huff Post UK, James Martin, centre, and Editor in Chief Huff Post UK, Steven Hull, right, after launching a story on “Early Intervention in Mental Health Care” on the Huffington Post landing page in the “News Room” at Kensington Palace, London, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016.’
Updated
at 3.50pm GMT
1.20pm GMT
13:20
Hello, and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. Three days from now, Democrats caucus in Nevada and Republicans hold a primary in South Carolina. Here’s what’s happening:
Nevada neck-and-neck?
In a CNN/ORC poll of likely caucus attendees published Wednesday, 48% said they supported Hillary Clinton and 47% backed Sanders. Be advised that the Nevada caucuses have proven tricky for pollsters in the past. This is the second recent poll to show a Nevada tie, FWIW.
Big TV buy news from NV:Hillary outspending Bernie $1.5M to $1M today thru caucusTrump made $400K buy this week.https://t.co/gzAxm22poV
The same poll showed Trump way ahead in Nevada among likely caucus-goers, with 45% to Marco Rubio’s 19%, and Clinton with a large lead in South Carolina, where Democrats vote on Saturday 27 February.
The president got some things off his mind in a news conference yesterday, including the need for the Senate to consider his next supreme court pick ...
The constitution is pretty clear about what is supposed to happen. When there is a vacancy on the supreme court, the president of the United States is to nominate someone. The Senate is to consider that nomination, and either they disapprove of that nominee, or that nominee is elevated to the supreme court ... There is more than enough time for the Senate to consider in a thoughtful way the record of a nominee that I present and to make a decision.
... and his perception that Donald J Trump will not be the 45th US president:
I continue to believe Mr Trump will not be president, and the reason is that I have a lot of faith in the American people, and and I think they recognize that being president is a serious job.
Point, counterpoint:
This explains why we (wrongly) keep assuming voters will magically come to their senses & reject Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/NJXbxfhVEZ
Then again, normal usually happens.
Our team in the field today includes Ben Jacobs with Donald Trump and Sabrina Siddiqui with Marco Rubio. Later Sabrina will attend a town hall featuring three Republican candidates: Carson, Rubio and Ted Cruz. As counter-programming to the town hall, Trump is holding an event of his own, some kind of love-in tonight with MSNBC host Joe Scarborough.
Hey, look, it’s American politics in a nutshell. Jeb Bush’s America ...
America. pic.twitter.com/TeduJkwQF3
... versus Bernie Sanders’ America:
Honorable mention:
i dont know why we're doing this butAmerica pic.twitter.com/KMR4MnW5lS
Updated
at 2.25pm GMT