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| GOP debate: For Cruz, Rubio and Kasich, this may be the last chance to trip up Trump | GOP debate: For Cruz, Rubio and Kasich, this may be the last chance to trip up Trump |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Republican front-runner Donald Trump will face off with his three remaining challengers on Thursday evening, on a day when political news has been dominated by two ugly encounters at Trump events — including one where his campaign manager forcefully grabbed a reporter. | Republican front-runner Donald Trump will face off with his three remaining challengers on Thursday evening, on a day when political news has been dominated by two ugly encounters at Trump events — including one where his campaign manager forcefully grabbed a reporter. |
| In that incident, which was witnessed by Washington Post reporter Ben Terris, campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbed Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields as she sought to ask Trump a question after a Tuesday night news conference. Lewandowski yanked Fields out of the way, using enough force that bruises formed on her arm. | In that incident, which was witnessed by Washington Post reporter Ben Terris, campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbed Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields as she sought to ask Trump a question after a Tuesday night news conference. Lewandowski yanked Fields out of the way, using enough force that bruises formed on her arm. |
| The Trump campaign later issued a statement that said that report was “entirely false,” according to media reports. Lewandowski himself posted a message on Twitter that called Fields an “attention seeker.” | The Trump campaign later issued a statement that said that report was “entirely false,” according to media reports. Lewandowski himself posted a message on Twitter that called Fields an “attention seeker.” |
| [Post reporter witnesses Trump campaign manager grab Breitbart staffer] | [Post reporter witnesses Trump campaign manager grab Breitbart staffer] |
| In the other incident, a 78 year-old North Carolina man was charged with assault and disorderly conduct for allegedly punching a protester in the crowd at a Trump event in Fayetteville, N.C. The incident itself was captured on video: Protester Rakeem Jones was being led out of the Trump rally by officers at the time he was struck. | In the other incident, a 78 year-old North Carolina man was charged with assault and disorderly conduct for allegedly punching a protester in the crowd at a Trump event in Fayetteville, N.C. The incident itself was captured on video: Protester Rakeem Jones was being led out of the Trump rally by officers at the time he was struck. |
| Trump has been criticized in the past for flirting with violent rhetoric: at one rally in Nevada, he said of a protester “I’d like to punch him in the face.” But his campaign plays a message before rallies that encourages supporters not to touch protesters and to wait for officers to remove them. | Trump has been criticized in the past for flirting with violent rhetoric: at one rally in Nevada, he said of a protester “I’d like to punch him in the face.” But his campaign plays a message before rallies that encourages supporters not to touch protesters and to wait for officers to remove them. |
| [Trump supporter charged after sucker-punching protester] | |
| Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, cited that punch in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow: “Count me among those who are truly distraught and even appalled by a lot of what I see going on, what I hear being said,” Clinton said in the interview, which will be televised Thursday night. “You know, you don’t make America great by, you know, dumping on everything that made America great, like freedom of speech and assembly and, you know, the right of people to protest.” | Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, cited that punch in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow: “Count me among those who are truly distraught and even appalled by a lot of what I see going on, what I hear being said,” Clinton said in the interview, which will be televised Thursday night. “You know, you don’t make America great by, you know, dumping on everything that made America great, like freedom of speech and assembly and, you know, the right of people to protest.” |
| For Trump, Thursday night’s debate in Miami will be the first time he will face his rivals — and debate moderators — in the aftermath of those incidents. But it also comes after a series of wins in the GOP primaries and caucuses. His challengers all desperately need to blunt Trump’s momentum before Tuesday’s key winner-take-all primaries in Florida and Ohio. | For Trump, Thursday night’s debate in Miami will be the first time he will face his rivals — and debate moderators — in the aftermath of those incidents. But it also comes after a series of wins in the GOP primaries and caucuses. His challengers all desperately need to blunt Trump’s momentum before Tuesday’s key winner-take-all primaries in Florida and Ohio. |
| [The three non-Trump Republicans make their math-based pitches to voters] | [The three non-Trump Republicans make their math-based pitches to voters] |
| The debate begins at 8:30 p.m. at the University of Miami, and it will be shown on CNN. | The debate begins at 8:30 p.m. at the University of Miami, and it will be shown on CNN. |
| Its location is a signal that the biggest prize at stake on Tuesday is Florida, where the state’s 99 delegates will be awarded to the winner, regardless of the voting percentages. The prize for second place is nothing. | Its location is a signal that the biggest prize at stake on Tuesday is Florida, where the state’s 99 delegates will be awarded to the winner, regardless of the voting percentages. The prize for second place is nothing. |
| On Thursday, a new Washington Post -Univision News poll showed Trump ahead of Sen. Marco Rubio in Florida. Trump was leading Rubio by a margin of 38 percent to 31 percent among likely Republican voters in the Sunshine State. That actually is good news for Rubio: Previous polls have shown him losing to Trump by double digits. But still, he would come away empty handed if he loses his home state. | On Thursday, a new Washington Post -Univision News poll showed Trump ahead of Sen. Marco Rubio in Florida. Trump was leading Rubio by a margin of 38 percent to 31 percent among likely Republican voters in the Sunshine State. That actually is good news for Rubio: Previous polls have shown him losing to Trump by double digits. But still, he would come away empty handed if he loses his home state. |
| Trump so far has won GOP contests in 15 states. He has accumulated about 458 Republican delegates, which is 99 more than his closest rival, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Trump needs 1,237 delegates to win the nomination. | Trump so far has won GOP contests in 15 states. He has accumulated about 458 Republican delegates, which is 99 more than his closest rival, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Trump needs 1,237 delegates to win the nomination. |
| [Ben Carson to endorse Trump on Friday, sources say] | [Ben Carson to endorse Trump on Friday, sources say] |
| In the last few weeks, the GOP nomination has turned surreal as Trump’s challengers turned desperate. Rubio, in particular, had sought to copy Trump’s insult-comic style, mocking the front-runner’s tan and insulting the size of his fingers. Trump responded in the last debate with an even more surreal moment: to reassure anyone who would draw implications from the size of his hands, he volunteered onstage that there was “not a problem” with the size of his genitals. | In the last few weeks, the GOP nomination has turned surreal as Trump’s challengers turned desperate. Rubio, in particular, had sought to copy Trump’s insult-comic style, mocking the front-runner’s tan and insulting the size of his fingers. Trump responded in the last debate with an even more surreal moment: to reassure anyone who would draw implications from the size of his hands, he volunteered onstage that there was “not a problem” with the size of his genitals. |
| If that moment hurt Trump, it didn’t hurt him much: since then, Trump has won five of the seven states that have voted since then. | If that moment hurt Trump, it didn’t hurt him much: since then, Trump has won five of the seven states that have voted since then. |
| Instead, the GOP electorate has turned to devour the candidate who insulted Trump’s fingers. | Instead, the GOP electorate has turned to devour the candidate who insulted Trump’s fingers. |
| In all four states that voted Tuesday, Rubio finished so far behind that he was awarded zero delegates for the night. | In all four states that voted Tuesday, Rubio finished so far behind that he was awarded zero delegates for the night. |
| Losing Florida would be a devastating blow not just to Rubio’s presidential campaign but his political career. Rubio is leaving the Senate, and he would have to face the next phase of his life with Trump’s epithet “Little Marco” metaphorically hung around his neck. | Losing Florida would be a devastating blow not just to Rubio’s presidential campaign but his political career. Rubio is leaving the Senate, and he would have to face the next phase of his life with Trump’s epithet “Little Marco” metaphorically hung around his neck. |
| [Inside Rubio’s collapse: A fateful decision that undermined his campaign] | [Inside Rubio’s collapse: A fateful decision that undermined his campaign] |
| On Wednesday, as his supporters fretted, Rubio conceded that his efforts to out-Trump Trump had backfired — and diminished Rubio instead. | On Wednesday, as his supporters fretted, Rubio conceded that his efforts to out-Trump Trump had backfired — and diminished Rubio instead. |
| “In terms of things that have to do with personal stuff, yeah, at the end of the day it’s not something I’m entirely proud of,” Rubio said in a town hall event on MSNBC. “My kids were embarrassed by it, and if I had to do it again, I wouldn’t.” | “In terms of things that have to do with personal stuff, yeah, at the end of the day it’s not something I’m entirely proud of,” Rubio said in a town hall event on MSNBC. “My kids were embarrassed by it, and if I had to do it again, I wouldn’t.” |
| On Thursday night, Rubio will have to decide whether to continue on the attack against Trump — but in more genteel terms — or whether to abstain, try to rebuild his gravitas and make a personal plea to his home-state voters. | On Thursday night, Rubio will have to decide whether to continue on the attack against Trump — but in more genteel terms — or whether to abstain, try to rebuild his gravitas and make a personal plea to his home-state voters. |
| But other candidates smell weakness, so Rubio will undoubtedly face new attacks. | But other candidates smell weakness, so Rubio will undoubtedly face new attacks. |
| In addition to Trump, who should relish a chance to mock Rubio’s slumping poll numbers, Cruz should also be on the offensive. Cruz believes he can beat Trump in a two-man race, so both the candidate and a pro-Cruz super PAC have been hammering Rubio in Florida, hoping that a loss there will get Rubio out of the race entirely. | In addition to Trump, who should relish a chance to mock Rubio’s slumping poll numbers, Cruz should also be on the offensive. Cruz believes he can beat Trump in a two-man race, so both the candidate and a pro-Cruz super PAC have been hammering Rubio in Florida, hoping that a loss there will get Rubio out of the race entirely. |
| The fourth candidate onstage will be Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has tried to stay out of the fighting among Trump, Rubio and Cruz. For now, Kasich’s above-it-all strategy seems to have worked better than Rubio’s: Polls show Kasich in a close race with Trump in his home state of Ohio. | The fourth candidate onstage will be Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has tried to stay out of the fighting among Trump, Rubio and Cruz. For now, Kasich’s above-it-all strategy seems to have worked better than Rubio’s: Polls show Kasich in a close race with Trump in his home state of Ohio. |
| On Tuesday, Ohio will be almost as big a prize as Florida, with 66 delegates for the winner and zero for everybody else. In Ohio, Kasich has the state’s GOP apparatus strongly behind him, and a fairly high approval rating. If he can beat Trump anywhere, this is it. | On Tuesday, Ohio will be almost as big a prize as Florida, with 66 delegates for the winner and zero for everybody else. In Ohio, Kasich has the state’s GOP apparatus strongly behind him, and a fairly high approval rating. If he can beat Trump anywhere, this is it. |
| Because of that, Kasich may have a hard time staying out of a fight with the front-runner Thursday night. Already, Trump has been calling him “an absentee governor” for spending so much time on the campaign trail, according to news reports. | Because of that, Kasich may have a hard time staying out of a fight with the front-runner Thursday night. Already, Trump has been calling him “an absentee governor” for spending so much time on the campaign trail, according to news reports. |
| Trump may also face new questions about his recent tax returns — which he has refused to release — and the true size of his wealth. | Trump may also face new questions about his recent tax returns — which he has refused to release — and the true size of his wealth. |
| A recent report in Crain’s New York Business showed that Trump had received a tax break from New York state that is available only to couples with an annual income of $500,000 or less. Trump’s campaign manager told Crain’s that this was an error by the state. | A recent report in Crain’s New York Business showed that Trump had received a tax break from New York state that is available only to couples with an annual income of $500,000 or less. Trump’s campaign manager told Crain’s that this was an error by the state. |
| Trump will also likely face questions about the physical violence used against protesters at his rallies, which Trump has seemed to encourage from the stage. The latest violence came to light Thursday, when videos seemed to show a protester — already being led out of a rally by men in uniform — being punched in the face by a Trump supporter as he passed. | Trump will also likely face questions about the physical violence used against protesters at his rallies, which Trump has seemed to encourage from the stage. The latest violence came to light Thursday, when videos seemed to show a protester — already being led out of a rally by men in uniform — being punched in the face by a Trump supporter as he passed. |
| [Trump protester sucker-punched at North Carolina rally, videos show] | [Trump protester sucker-punched at North Carolina rally, videos show] |
| “The shock of it all is starting to set in,” Rakeem Jones, the man who was hit, told The Washington Post in a telephone interview. “This dude really hit me, and they let him get away with it. I was basically in police custody and got hit.” | “The shock of it all is starting to set in,” Rakeem Jones, the man who was hit, told The Washington Post in a telephone interview. “This dude really hit me, and they let him get away with it. I was basically in police custody and got hit.” |
| Trump could also face questions about the alleged behavior of his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, after Trump’s post-primary news conference Tuesday. A Washington Post reporter witnessed Lewandowski roughly grab the arm of a reporter for Breitbart — a conservative news outlet generally friendly to the front-runner — as the Breitbart reporter tried to ask another question while Trump made his exit. | Trump could also face questions about the alleged behavior of his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, after Trump’s post-primary news conference Tuesday. A Washington Post reporter witnessed Lewandowski roughly grab the arm of a reporter for Breitbart — a conservative news outlet generally friendly to the front-runner — as the Breitbart reporter tried to ask another question while Trump made his exit. |
| Breitbart chief executive Larry Solov later issued a statement, saying, “It’s obviously unacceptable that someone crossed a line and made physical contact with our reporter.” But the statement did not say with certainty that Lewandowski was the person who had done the grabbing. | Breitbart chief executive Larry Solov later issued a statement, saying, “It’s obviously unacceptable that someone crossed a line and made physical contact with our reporter.” But the statement did not say with certainty that Lewandowski was the person who had done the grabbing. |