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| Ted Cruz creeps up on Donald Trump after Super Saturday victories – live updates | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 2.40pm GMT | |
| 14:40 | |
| Michigan poll gives Trump and Clinton leads in battleground state | |
| Sanders also rejects accusations of “fantasy” policies, from the Clinton campaign, particularly on healthcare and its universal provision. Of course he does: “This is not fantasy, this is reality, I will stand up for the middle class.” And it’s on to the Michigan debate tonight, where such things will no doubt come up again. | |
| Speaking of Michigan, a new CBS poll today puts Clinton and Trump ahead in that battleground state, which votes on Tuesday. | |
| Trump leads Cruz 39% to 24%, with Rubio on 16% and Kasich 15%. Ben Carson takes 5%, presumably from respondents who responded before he withdrew from the race this week. | |
| On the Democratic side it’s Clinton 55%, Sanders 44%. | |
| I shall pretend the missing 1% still hold out hope for Martin O’Malley. | |
| 2.35pm GMT | |
| 14:35 | |
| Sanders says there is not an “enthusiasm gap” between the Democratic race and the Republicans, who have been experiencing high turnout. He has high turnout, he says, for his rallies, and that’s true. | |
| He’s asked about Clinton’s emails. Unlike Mitt Romney he doesn’t want to play ball, at all. So he doesn’t. | |
| 2.33pm GMT | |
| 14:33 | |
| Bernie Sanders speaks to CNN | |
| We’re over to the Democratic race, in which Sanders took Kansas and Nebraska in caucuses last night and Hillary Clinton took Louisiana in a primary, keeping the whole thing bubbling nicely. | |
| Clinton took more delegates last night, Sanders the most states. This happens a lot in American politics: Ted Cruz got more delegates than Donald Trump yesterday though they won two states each. So. | |
| Sanders is speaking live to CNN, anyway, and he’s asked about his problem in attracting African American voters, who seem to be going for Clinton. He deflects the question and says it is also a “generational divide”, and he is getting the young across all barriers of race. | |
| “We have now won seven primaries and caucuses across the country all with double-digit leads,” he says, predicting good things in Maine today “if the turnout is high”. He also says he’s the strongest candidate to beat Trump. | |
| Will he fight to the convention if Clinton reaches the delegate target before that? | |
| “We have made enormous progress over the last 10 months,” he says, and lists his successes. “We are going to stay in the campaign until the convention in July.” | |
| Dana Bash asks again. | |
| “Dana, you are speculating, I don’t think that’s going to happen.” | |
| He says he can win big states, New York for example, and on the west coast. “We think we have momentum and we think we’re going to do just fine,” he says. | |
| He also says he won’t speculate, and Bash points out he just did so about New York and the west coast. | |
| So on fighting to the convention if Clinton hits the delegate candidate, that’s not a yes, not a no. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.47pm GMT | |
| 2.23pm GMT | |
| 14:23 | |
| Romney also defends himself against having sought Trump’s endorsement in 2012, because he says Trump’s outbursts in this campaign – he lists them again – are much worse than when he was merely questioning Barack Obama’s birth in 2012. He also said this in his speech on Thursday. | |
| CNN not digging up much that’s new, so far. | |
| 2.20pm GMT | |
| 14:20 | |
| So much for Rubio. Now on to “the new face of the stop Trump movement”. That’s Mitt Romney, folks. | |
| “I wanted to remain as a neutral umpire, if you will,” Romney says, “calling balls and strikes and things… but Donald Trump meant I couldn’t wait any longer.” | |
| That prompts a slightly softball question about Trump’s base, if you will, and about whether Romney’s intervention might drive them away from the Republican party. He dodges it. The celestial umpire calls a ball. | |
| “I’ll hopefully be able to find a conservative on the ballot who I can vote for,” he says, and that won’t be Trump or Hillary Clinton. | |
| “I think there’s a better choice out there,” he says. Interesting. Who? Romney repeats his speech line about Rubio in Florida, Kasich in Ohio and yadda yadda. He thinks he’ll endorse after 15 March, but only if the picture’s clearer, and he’s still fine with an open convention, contested with delegates unbound to decide the eventual nominee. | |
| “I think it’s a realistic scenario,” he says, though he thinks Trump has a “more than likely shot” at getting the nomination. | |
| Would he allow his own name to be put into nomination in a contested convention? | |
| “That’s not going to happen,” Romney says. “I’m not even going to go there.” | |
| 2.10pm GMT | 2.10pm GMT |
| 14:10 | 14:10 |
| Asked about Trump’s flipflops on torture, Rubio hedged and said: “You cannot use the same interrogation techniques on a terrorist as you can on a criminal.“ | Asked about Trump’s flipflops on torture, Rubio hedged and said: “You cannot use the same interrogation techniques on a terrorist as you can on a criminal.“ |
| “It’s not about collecting evidence for trial”, he says, but rather about preventing attacks. | “It’s not about collecting evidence for trial”, he says, but rather about preventing attacks. |
| That doesn’t strike me as a, um, watertight case. | That doesn’t strike me as a, um, watertight case. |
| 2.07pm GMT | 2.07pm GMT |
| 14:07 | 14:07 |
| So in effect, this isn’t a big one after all. | So in effect, this isn’t a big one after all. |
| Rubio was in combative mood for it, anyway – past tense, now – calling out Trump for his many alleged horribilities, listing young conservatives like him who are true conservatives, and so on. | Rubio was in combative mood for it, anyway – past tense, now – calling out Trump for his many alleged horribilities, listing young conservatives like him who are true conservatives, and so on. |
| Bash asked him why he had waited till February to attack Trump so vociferously as he now was doing, and he said he hadn’t wanted to, and then proceeded to do so again. | Bash asked him why he had waited till February to attack Trump so vociferously as he now was doing, and he said he hadn’t wanted to, and then proceeded to do so again. |
| The CPAC audience gave Bash some cat-calls and boos, by the by. CNN anchors are not natural CPAC questioners. That’s usually Sean Hannity or one of his chums from Fox. So maybe that is a clue as to why Rubio is having problems attracting the hardcore conservatives who voted on Saturday, mostly, for Cruz. | The CPAC audience gave Bash some cat-calls and boos, by the by. CNN anchors are not natural CPAC questioners. That’s usually Sean Hannity or one of his chums from Fox. So maybe that is a clue as to why Rubio is having problems attracting the hardcore conservatives who voted on Saturday, mostly, for Cruz. |
| 2.03pm GMT | 2.03pm GMT |
| 14:03 | 14:03 |
| Marco Rubio speaks to CNN | Marco Rubio speaks to CNN |
| This is a big one to kick-off with, because the Florida senator had a stinker last night. He’s pinning his hopes on his own state, which votes on 15 March. Which is the Ides of March, you know. | This is a big one to kick-off with, because the Florida senator had a stinker last night. He’s pinning his hopes on his own state, which votes on 15 March. Which is the Ides of March, you know. |
| Florida offers 99 delegates to the winner, which would help Rubio. It turns out, though, that CNN’s interview with Rubio was carried out after his speech at CPAC in Maryland on Saturday. Huh. | Florida offers 99 delegates to the winner, which would help Rubio. It turns out, though, that CNN’s interview with Rubio was carried out after his speech at CPAC in Maryland on Saturday. Huh. |
| 2.00pm GMT | 2.00pm GMT |
| 14:00 | 14:00 |
| Kevin Spacey is also lurking, to be interviewed on NBC. This is because the fourth season of House of Cards went up on Netflix on Friday and many in the media would rather have Francis Underwood in the White House. | Kevin Spacey is also lurking, to be interviewed on NBC. This is because the fourth season of House of Cards went up on Netflix on Friday and many in the media would rather have Francis Underwood in the White House. |
| Here’s a trailer. | Here’s a trailer. |
| I hope he gets back to killing people in this series, rather than just have his marriage go wrong, slowly. | I hope he gets back to killing people in this series, rather than just have his marriage go wrong, slowly. |
| 1.51pm GMT | 1.51pm GMT |
| 13:51 | 13:51 |
| Here’s a thing. As of this typing, and you can never discount changes to the line-ups or him just calling in, which apparently no-one else is allowed to do but he is because ratings… as of this typing, Donald Trump is not scheduled to appear on any of the actual talk shows. | Here’s a thing. As of this typing, and you can never discount changes to the line-ups or him just calling in, which apparently no-one else is allowed to do but he is because ratings… as of this typing, Donald Trump is not scheduled to appear on any of the actual talk shows. |
| He called Fox and Friends, yes. But no Fox News Sunday does that make. | He called Fox and Friends, yes. But no Fox News Sunday does that make. |
| So today it seems Trump will not achieve the full Ginsburg, the sweep of all five, named for Monica Lewinsky’s lawyer and achieved last week – is there a club tie? – by Ted Cruz. Maybe his is instead the full Ginsberg, named by me for the character from Mad Men who goes crazy and cuts off his own nipple. Maybe not. | So today it seems Trump will not achieve the full Ginsburg, the sweep of all five, named for Monica Lewinsky’s lawyer and achieved last week – is there a club tie? – by Ted Cruz. Maybe his is instead the full Ginsberg, named by me for the character from Mad Men who goes crazy and cuts off his own nipple. Maybe not. |
| Of course, this may well change. But if it doesn’t, we do have a glut of interviews with Mitt Romney to look forward to. | Of course, this may well change. But if it doesn’t, we do have a glut of interviews with Mitt Romney to look forward to. |
| Remember him? Tall chap, billionaire, saved the Olympics and invented Obamacare then lost a presidential election to, of all the rotten luck, Barack Obama. Dog on top of car, “varmints, if you will”, the 47%. Flirted with a third run, decided against, then appeared this week as the voice of the Republican establishment, shouting at Trump, who then won a couple more states anyway. Him. | Remember him? Tall chap, billionaire, saved the Olympics and invented Obamacare then lost a presidential election to, of all the rotten luck, Barack Obama. Dog on top of car, “varmints, if you will”, the 47%. Flirted with a third run, decided against, then appeared this week as the voice of the Republican establishment, shouting at Trump, who then won a couple more states anyway. Him. |
| Related: Mitt Romney says Trump's 'third-grade theatrics' not worthy of presidency | Related: Mitt Romney says Trump's 'third-grade theatrics' not worthy of presidency |
| He’s also one of the names being bandied about by careless press types as a sort of white knight to be offered up at a brokered GOP convention. Ditto Paul Ryan, speaker of the House and Romney’s VP pick in 2012. It’s not very likely, but then in this election quite a lot that wasn’t very likely has subsequently, extraordinarily, happened. | He’s also one of the names being bandied about by careless press types as a sort of white knight to be offered up at a brokered GOP convention. Ditto Paul Ryan, speaker of the House and Romney’s VP pick in 2012. It’s not very likely, but then in this election quite a lot that wasn’t very likely has subsequently, extraordinarily, happened. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.52pm GMT | at 1.52pm GMT |
| 1.42pm GMT | 1.42pm GMT |
| 13:42 | 13:42 |
| Alan Yuhas | Alan Yuhas |
| The the Fox Friends ask again about Saturday’s election results, and Trump downplays Cruz’s two victories. Of one thing he’s certain: “The loser of the evening was Marco Rubio, without question.” | The the Fox Friends ask again about Saturday’s election results, and Trump downplays Cruz’s two victories. Of one thing he’s certain: “The loser of the evening was Marco Rubio, without question.” |
| The billionaire dodges slightly on whether he’d make a third-party bid, saying that should the Republican party try to broker a convention, his “very fervent group of followers”, well, “they’re not going to be happy”. | The billionaire dodges slightly on whether he’d make a third-party bid, saying that should the Republican party try to broker a convention, his “very fervent group of followers”, well, “they’re not going to be happy”. |
| Trump says that the number of delegates needed to lock up the nomination is “really an arbitrary number”. “I think your’e going to have tremendous dissension,” he adds, should the party try to prevent his nomination. | Trump says that the number of delegates needed to lock up the nomination is “really an arbitrary number”. “I think your’e going to have tremendous dissension,” he adds, should the party try to prevent his nomination. |
| The Friends ask about whether Trump is really a conservative compared to Ted Cruz – or at least are his supporters really conservatives. | The Friends ask about whether Trump is really a conservative compared to Ted Cruz – or at least are his supporters really conservatives. |
| “They are conservatives, but, in my opinion, they’re also Democrats coming across, they’re independents coming across, we’re getting a lot of people.” | “They are conservatives, but, in my opinion, they’re also Democrats coming across, they’re independents coming across, we’re getting a lot of people.” |
| Trump says his fans have “tremendous spirit and great love for the country”, even though its tinged by “a lot of anger”. He says the Fox Friends know what he’s talking about. | Trump says his fans have “tremendous spirit and great love for the country”, even though its tinged by “a lot of anger”. He says the Fox Friends know what he’s talking about. |
| 1.40pm GMT | 1.40pm GMT |
| 13:40 | 13:40 |
| Alan Yuhas | Alan Yuhas |
| The Fox Friends: Did you flip-flop on whether you would condone torture? | The Fox Friends: Did you flip-flop on whether you would condone torture? |
| Trump: “I didn’t flip-flop on torture at all.” | Trump: “I didn’t flip-flop on torture at all.” |
| “It’s pretty ridiculous that we have laws and Isis doesn’t.” | “It’s pretty ridiculous that we have laws and Isis doesn’t.” |
| About those laws, he goes on “I abide by it, not that I’m thrilled about it … you think they’re saying, ‘oh gee I broke the law?’ They have no rules, regulations or laws and we have very strict rules, regulations and laws.” | About those laws, he goes on “I abide by it, not that I’m thrilled about it … you think they’re saying, ‘oh gee I broke the law?’ They have no rules, regulations or laws and we have very strict rules, regulations and laws.” |
| Trump’s suggests, vaguely, that he wants to decriminalize some torture: “I would want to open up those laws because I don’t think we’re playing on the same field.” | Trump’s suggests, vaguely, that he wants to decriminalize some torture: “I would want to open up those laws because I don’t think we’re playing on the same field.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.00pm GMT | at 2.00pm GMT |
| 1.36pm GMT | 1.36pm GMT |
| 13:36 | 13:36 |
| Alan Yuhas | Alan Yuhas |
| We’re off to the races. Donald Trump has phoned into Fox News’ Fox and Friends, where a triumvirate of pale anchors asks the billionaire about his defeat in Maine to Ted Cruz. | We’re off to the races. Donald Trump has phoned into Fox News’ Fox and Friends, where a triumvirate of pale anchors asks the billionaire about his defeat in Maine to Ted Cruz. |
| Trump: “As I jokingly said he should’ve won because he’s right next to Canada.” | Trump: “As I jokingly said he should’ve won because he’s right next to Canada.” |
| That got a very, very big round of applause, Trump says. But he “didn’t know too much about Maine,” he said. He’s ready for what’s next. | That got a very, very big round of applause, Trump says. But he “didn’t know too much about Maine,” he said. He’s ready for what’s next. |
| “Florida’s going to be interesting, Michigan’s going to be interesting. You’re going to have some high ratings because there are some very interesting places coming up.” | “Florida’s going to be interesting, Michigan’s going to be interesting. You’re going to have some high ratings because there are some very interesting places coming up.” |
| 1.29pm GMT | 1.29pm GMT |
| 13:29 | 13:29 |
| Good morning and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Super Saturday results and the next stage of the 2016 election. | Good morning and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Super Saturday results and the next stage of the 2016 election. |
| Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz had good nights against the frontrunners of their parties, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, though the former secretary of state and the rouge billionaire claimed victories of their own. Not very many people voted for Marco Rubio. Nor did many in Kansas, Maine, Kentucky and Louisiana vote for John Kasich. No one voted for him in Nebraska, because that was a Democratic caucus. | Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz had good nights against the frontrunners of their parties, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, though the former secretary of state and the rouge billionaire claimed victories of their own. Not very many people voted for Marco Rubio. Nor did many in Kansas, Maine, Kentucky and Louisiana vote for John Kasich. No one voted for him in Nebraska, because that was a Democratic caucus. |
| So what do we have this morning, before voting starts again in Maine (Democrats) and Puerto Rico (Republicans, maybe a win for Rubio, although not actually a state) and Sanders and Clinton debate in Flint, Michigan tonight? | So what do we have this morning, before voting starts again in Maine (Democrats) and Puerto Rico (Republicans, maybe a win for Rubio, although not actually a state) and Sanders and Clinton debate in Flint, Michigan tonight? |
| We’ll have the smorgasbore of presidential candidates on talk shows, which today feature not only Rubio and Cruz but Mitt Romney, the anti-Trump crusader, and Reince Priebus, the man who may have to broker the Republican convention. The talk shows should not be confused with a smorgasbord (a meal with many different plates to share) or even a smorgasBork (a plethora of thinkpieces about Robert Bork, the suddenly relevant arch-conservative who helped screw up Congress). | We’ll have the smorgasbore of presidential candidates on talk shows, which today feature not only Rubio and Cruz but Mitt Romney, the anti-Trump crusader, and Reince Priebus, the man who may have to broker the Republican convention. The talk shows should not be confused with a smorgasbord (a meal with many different plates to share) or even a smorgasBork (a plethora of thinkpieces about Robert Bork, the suddenly relevant arch-conservative who helped screw up Congress). |
| Anyway, they’ll talk about Trump v Cruz, everybody v Trump, when Rubio and Kasich should drop out, whether Sanders can catch Clinton and, possibly, that supreme court vacancy … starting on CNN at 9am. I’ll watch and Alan Yuhas and Ed Helmore will chip in. | Anyway, they’ll talk about Trump v Cruz, everybody v Trump, when Rubio and Kasich should drop out, whether Sanders can catch Clinton and, possibly, that supreme court vacancy … starting on CNN at 9am. I’ll watch and Alan Yuhas and Ed Helmore will chip in. |
| In the meanwhile: | In the meanwhile: |
| And here’s a picture of Robert Bork. | And here’s a picture of Robert Bork. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.29pm GMT | at 1.29pm GMT |