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| Death of Nancy Reagan casts shadow on 2016 presidential race – as it happened | Death of Nancy Reagan casts shadow on 2016 presidential race – as it happened |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| 5.08pm GMT | 5.08pm GMT |
| 17:08 | 17:08 |
| With the news of the death of former first lady Nancy Reagan, we are closing this live blog. Our political coverage of the 2016 election will continue throughout the day. | With the news of the death of former first lady Nancy Reagan, we are closing this live blog. Our political coverage of the 2016 election will continue throughout the day. |
| 4.55pm GMT | 4.55pm GMT |
| 16:55 | 16:55 |
| Nancy Reagan has died | Nancy Reagan has died |
| The former first lady died at her Los Angeles home this morning, at the age of 94. | The former first lady died at her Los Angeles home this morning, at the age of 94. |
| Related: Nancy Reagan, former first lady, dies at the age of 94 | Related: Nancy Reagan, former first lady, dies at the age of 94 |
| In a statement, a spokesman for the Ronald Reagan presidential library said: | In a statement, a spokesman for the Ronald Reagan presidential library said: |
| Nancy Davis Reagan, former first lady of the United States, died this morning at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 94. The cause of her death was congestive heart failure. | Nancy Davis Reagan, former first lady of the United States, died this morning at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 94. The cause of her death was congestive heart failure. |
| Ronald Reagan died in 2004, at the age of 94 and after years of declining health. | Ronald Reagan died in 2004, at the age of 94 and after years of declining health. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.10pm GMT | at 5.10pm GMT |
| 4.28pm GMT | 4.28pm GMT |
| 16:28 | 16:28 |
| Alan Yuhas | Alan Yuhas |
| Reince Priebus, the Republican party chairman, makes a final appearance on the shows, also appearing on CBS. He clings to the party line like a ceiling-stuck gecko that just realized he’s afraid of heights. | Reince Priebus, the Republican party chairman, makes a final appearance on the shows, also appearing on CBS. He clings to the party line like a ceiling-stuck gecko that just realized he’s afraid of heights. |
| Asked about the dissolution of the modern Republican party as America knows it, there’s “no question,” he says, “in the enthusiasm gap we’re crushing the Democrats.” | Asked about the dissolution of the modern Republican party as America knows it, there’s “no question,” he says, “in the enthusiasm gap we’re crushing the Democrats.” |
| Everyone will “pledge to support the eventual nominee,” he assures host John Dickerson. One person will join our party and we will be 100% behind that person.” | Everyone will “pledge to support the eventual nominee,” he assures host John Dickerson. One person will join our party and we will be 100% behind that person.” |
| He admits he has no idea what’s going to actually happen, though: “obviously the proof is going to be in the pudding.” | He admits he has no idea what’s going to actually happen, though: “obviously the proof is going to be in the pudding.” |
| Dickerson alludes to Marco Rubio’s crude jokes and Donald Trump’s indefatigable way with insults, and Priebus actually admonishes the candidates. Slightly. “I do think that tone and rhetoric has to improve. I do think you need to keep a PG rating during debates.” | Dickerson alludes to Marco Rubio’s crude jokes and Donald Trump’s indefatigable way with insults, and Priebus actually admonishes the candidates. Slightly. “I do think that tone and rhetoric has to improve. I do think you need to keep a PG rating during debates.” |
| Finally he concludes with a little boost for the democratic socialist in the race. “If I was a Democrat I would be very concerned over the very low turnout over a sluggish process,” he says. “I think Bernie Sanders is going to do very well over in the west coast.” | Finally he concludes with a little boost for the democratic socialist in the race. “If I was a Democrat I would be very concerned over the very low turnout over a sluggish process,” he says. “I think Bernie Sanders is going to do very well over in the west coast.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.28pm GMT | at 4.28pm GMT |
| 4.08pm GMT | 4.08pm GMT |
| 16:08 | 16:08 |
| Alan Yuhas | Alan Yuhas |
| Dickerson asks Cruz whether this chaotic campaign season and its surfeit of ad hominem attacks has tainted American politics. | Dickerson asks Cruz whether this chaotic campaign season and its surfeit of ad hominem attacks has tainted American politics. |
| Cruz says he’s not going to get into the mud-slinging: “I’m not going to play that game.” | Cruz says he’s not going to get into the mud-slinging: “I’m not going to play that game.” |
| “I don’t really have any views on the sizes of any parts of Donald Trump’s anatomy, I’m not going to be any part of that,” he adds, referring to crude insinuations made by Marco Rubio about Trump’s genitalia. | “I don’t really have any views on the sizes of any parts of Donald Trump’s anatomy, I’m not going to be any part of that,” he adds, referring to crude insinuations made by Marco Rubio about Trump’s genitalia. |
| Then, a few minutes after saying he would not impugn the characters of his rivals, he says that Donald Trump would be an embarrassment to Americans if elected president. He invokes the soaring rhetoric of John F Kennedy, a Democrat who would have opposed nearly all of Cruz’s ideas, to make his point. | Then, a few minutes after saying he would not impugn the characters of his rivals, he says that Donald Trump would be an embarrassment to Americans if elected president. He invokes the soaring rhetoric of John F Kennedy, a Democrat who would have opposed nearly all of Cruz’s ideas, to make his point. |
| “If it would embarrass you to have your children repeat the words of your president. That’s not a good thing,” he says. | “If it would embarrass you to have your children repeat the words of your president. That’s not a good thing,” he says. |
| Then he talks about selling debate-branded “yoga mats on our website”. Ted Cruz has become a yoga mat salesman. | Then he talks about selling debate-branded “yoga mats on our website”. Ted Cruz has become a yoga mat salesman. |
| Back to the election, he insists he would support the Republican nominee no matter who it is – though he avoids saying Trump’s name. | Back to the election, he insists he would support the Republican nominee no matter who it is – though he avoids saying Trump’s name. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.31pm GMT | at 4.31pm GMT |
| 4.00pm GMT | 4.00pm GMT |
| 16:00 | 16:00 |
| Alan Yuhas | Alan Yuhas |
| CBS host John Dickerson points out that Ronald Reagan used the convention to try to beat Gerald Ford… Cruz says no way, that’s different, but doesn’t really explain how. | CBS host John Dickerson points out that Ronald Reagan used the convention to try to beat Gerald Ford… Cruz says no way, that’s different, but doesn’t really explain how. |
| Dickerson asks whether Cruz has tried to figure out an anti-Trump alliance yet. | Dickerson asks whether Cruz has tried to figure out an anti-Trump alliance yet. |
| “I’m having conversations from all sorts of people and we’re seeing supporters of other candidates come joining us. … They’re recognizing that their candidates were not in a position to beat Donald.” | “I’m having conversations from all sorts of people and we’re seeing supporters of other candidates come joining us. … They’re recognizing that their candidates were not in a position to beat Donald.” |
| “If Donald is the nominee it is a catastrophe. He says Republicans lose the White House, the supreme court, the Senate, the works, should Trump be the nominee.” | “If Donald is the nominee it is a catastrophe. He says Republicans lose the White House, the supreme court, the Senate, the works, should Trump be the nominee.” |
| Cruz then bashes the media to media professional John Dickerson for the way he and his cohorts have embraced Trump and given him “hundreds of millions of dollars of free advertising”. | Cruz then bashes the media to media professional John Dickerson for the way he and his cohorts have embraced Trump and given him “hundreds of millions of dollars of free advertising”. |
| 4.00pm GMT | 4.00pm GMT |
| 16:00 | 16:00 |
| Cruz: 'uprising' over brokered convention | Cruz: 'uprising' over brokered convention |
| Alan Yuhas | Alan Yuhas |
| Finally, Ted Cruz makes an appearance on the CBS program – in an interview taped before the senator won two states on Saturday. | Finally, Ted Cruz makes an appearance on the CBS program – in an interview taped before the senator won two states on Saturday. |
| Back on Friday though Cruz was already irritated by Republican talk of a contested convention to choose a nominee. “I think that is the fevered talk of the Washington establishment,” he says. | Back on Friday though Cruz was already irritated by Republican talk of a contested convention to choose a nominee. “I think that is the fevered talk of the Washington establishment,” he says. |
| “Go Trump,” someone shouts in the background. | “Go Trump,” someone shouts in the background. |
| “Their favored candidates, the ones they want to win, are not getting votes,” Cruz continues. | “Their favored candidates, the ones they want to win, are not getting votes,” Cruz continues. |
| If party leaders try to choose a candidate other than the one who wins the majority of votes/delegates, Cruz says, “I think we will have a manifest uprising. If you want to beat Donald Trump … You gotta beat him at the ballot box, and our campaign is the only campaign that has demonstrated it can do that.” | If party leaders try to choose a candidate other than the one who wins the majority of votes/delegates, Cruz says, “I think we will have a manifest uprising. If you want to beat Donald Trump … You gotta beat him at the ballot box, and our campaign is the only campaign that has demonstrated it can do that.” |
| A brokered convention would be unfair, he says. | A brokered convention would be unfair, he says. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.30pm GMT | at 4.30pm GMT |
| 3.57pm GMT | 3.57pm GMT |
| 15:57 | 15:57 |
| Alan Yuhas | Alan Yuhas |
| Dickerson presses Clinton on a genuine policy question: Libya, and her hawkish role in pushing President Obama toward military intervention there in 2011. | Dickerson presses Clinton on a genuine policy question: Libya, and her hawkish role in pushing President Obama toward military intervention there in 2011. |
| She says it was ultimately Obama’s decision to join air strikes against dictator Muammar Ghadafi, and asks Dickerson to “remember, as we were, the kinds of threats and actions that we were taking.” | She says it was ultimately Obama’s decision to join air strikes against dictator Muammar Ghadafi, and asks Dickerson to “remember, as we were, the kinds of threats and actions that we were taking.” |
| “Ghadafi hollowed out their country, left them without a functioning military, a functioning government,” she adds. | “Ghadafi hollowed out their country, left them without a functioning military, a functioning government,” she adds. |
| She says she feared “an absence of action by Nato, by Arab League nations” and the US. That lack of action “would have probably turned Libya into Syria, which I think would’ve been an even more dangerous situation,” she says. | She says she feared “an absence of action by Nato, by Arab League nations” and the US. That lack of action “would have probably turned Libya into Syria, which I think would’ve been an even more dangerous situation,” she says. |
| But Clinton admits that Libya, riven by a chaotic civil war of its own, is “not good”. But she compares a few thousand killed in Libya in 2015 to “probably 150,000” in Syria – insisting that intervention was the lesser of two evils at the time. | But Clinton admits that Libya, riven by a chaotic civil war of its own, is “not good”. But she compares a few thousand killed in Libya in 2015 to “probably 150,000” in Syria – insisting that intervention was the lesser of two evils at the time. |
| Clinton has a relatively hawkish foreign policy position compared to Bernie Sanders, who espouses a more reluctant philosophy to intervention. | Clinton has a relatively hawkish foreign policy position compared to Bernie Sanders, who espouses a more reluctant philosophy to intervention. |
| 3.46pm GMT | 3.46pm GMT |
| 15:46 | 15:46 |
| Alan Yuhas | Alan Yuhas |
| Hillary Clinton appears next on the CBS show, where she tells the host that she’s unfazed by the relatively low turnout of the Democratic primary race compared to that of the Republican contest. | Hillary Clinton appears next on the CBS show, where she tells the host that she’s unfazed by the relatively low turnout of the Democratic primary race compared to that of the Republican contest. |
| “I’ve gotten more votes than anybody running on either side,” she says. “I’ve gotten more votes than Donald Trump, though I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear that.” | “I’ve gotten more votes than anybody running on either side,” she says. “I’ve gotten more votes than Donald Trump, though I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear that.” |
| The host now asks about Clinton’s notorious private email server, and in particular how a former State Department staffer has been called to testify, raising fears that someone might be indicted in the investigation into the server’s security. | The host now asks about Clinton’s notorious private email server, and in particular how a former State Department staffer has been called to testify, raising fears that someone might be indicted in the investigation into the server’s security. |
| Clinton says “there is no basis for that” fear of indictment. “It’s a security review. I’m delighted that he has agreed to cooperate as everyone else has.” | Clinton says “there is no basis for that” fear of indictment. “It’s a security review. I’m delighted that he has agreed to cooperate as everyone else has.” |
| CBS: You see this as good news? | CBS: You see this as good news? |
| Clinton: “Yeah, I do, absolutely. I see this as getting closer and closer to wrapping this up.” | Clinton: “Yeah, I do, absolutely. I see this as getting closer and closer to wrapping this up.” |
| 3.46pm GMT | 3.46pm GMT |
| 15:46 | 15:46 |
| Edward Helmore | |
| More of the same from Mitt Romney, writes Ed Helmore, who was watching Fox News Sunday. Except he did, when asked if he would support Trump if he became the nominee, say this: | More of the same from Mitt Romney, writes Ed Helmore, who was watching Fox News Sunday. Except he did, when asked if he would support Trump if he became the nominee, say this: |
| “I plan to support Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio or John Kasich. If they don’t become the nominee then I pland to go to the voting booth and find someone whose running as a conservative or just write the name of someone I believe should be president of the United States and who I could be proud of.” | “I plan to support Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio or John Kasich. If they don’t become the nominee then I pland to go to the voting booth and find someone whose running as a conservative or just write the name of someone I believe should be president of the United States and who I could be proud of.” |
| Apparently, though, that name would not be “Mitt Romney”. No. Not ever. | Apparently, though, that name would not be “Mitt Romney”. No. Not ever. |
| Updated | |
| at 7.35pm GMT | |
| 3.41pm GMT | 3.41pm GMT |
| 15:41 | 15:41 |
| Trump discusses torture and 'the rules', again | Trump discusses torture and 'the rules', again |
| It turns out Trump spoke to CBS’s Face the Nation – but taped it last night in Florida. Speaking to host John Dickerson, the frontrunner went back to the well on Isis, torture and the constraints or not of international law. Thanks to Politico for the excerpt, in which Trump said: | It turns out Trump spoke to CBS’s Face the Nation – but taped it last night in Florida. Speaking to host John Dickerson, the frontrunner went back to the well on Isis, torture and the constraints or not of international law. Thanks to Politico for the excerpt, in which Trump said: |
| We cannot beat Isis. We should beat Isis very quickly. General Patton would have had Isis down in about three days. General Douglas McArthur. We are playing by a different set of rules… | We cannot beat Isis. We should beat Isis very quickly. General Patton would have had Isis down in about three days. General Douglas McArthur. We are playing by a different set of rules… |
| The interview continued on familiar lines: “[T]he Isis people chop off the heads, and they then go back to their homes and they talk. And they hear we’re talking about waterboarding like it’s the worst thing in the world, and they’ve just drowned 100 people and chopped off 50 heads. They must think we are a little bit on the weak side. ... [W]e are playing by rules, but they have no rules.” | The interview continued on familiar lines: “[T]he Isis people chop off the heads, and they then go back to their homes and they talk. And they hear we’re talking about waterboarding like it’s the worst thing in the world, and they’ve just drowned 100 people and chopped off 50 heads. They must think we are a little bit on the weak side. ... [W]e are playing by rules, but they have no rules.” |
| Dickerson then asked Trump if “playing by rules” was what “separates us from the savages?” | Dickerson then asked Trump if “playing by rules” was what “separates us from the savages?” |
| Trump: “No, I don’t think so … We have to beat the savages.” | Trump: “No, I don’t think so … We have to beat the savages.” |
| Dickerson: “By being savages?” | Dickerson: “By being savages?” |
| Trump: “No, well. We have to play the game the way they’re playing the game. You’re not going to win if we’re soft and they have no rules. | Trump: “No, well. We have to play the game the way they’re playing the game. You’re not going to win if we’re soft and they have no rules. |
| Now, I want to stay within the laws. I want to do all of that, but I think we have to increase the laws because the laws are not working. | Now, I want to stay within the laws. I want to do all of that, but I think we have to increase the laws because the laws are not working. |
| “The laws” he wants to increase would be “the Geneva conventions”. | “The laws” he wants to increase would be “the Geneva conventions”. |
| This week, a group of leading Republican figures on national security wrote an open letter saying they would not follow orders from a President Trump which contravened such international law, by, say, ordering waterboarding, or the targeting of family members of terrorist suspects. | This week, a group of leading Republican figures on national security wrote an open letter saying they would not follow orders from a President Trump which contravened such international law, by, say, ordering waterboarding, or the targeting of family members of terrorist suspects. |
| Trump subsequently rowed back a bit, only to row back the other way at his rallies this weekend: | Trump subsequently rowed back a bit, only to row back the other way at his rallies this weekend: |
| Here's the full bit of Trump talking about having the "laws broadened" on waterboarding: pic.twitter.com/3JtF2jlAYq | Here's the full bit of Trump talking about having the "laws broadened" on waterboarding: pic.twitter.com/3JtF2jlAYq |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.41pm GMT | at 3.41pm GMT |