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| Version 19 | Version 20 |
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| As it happened: conservative leaders meet to plot against Trump | As it happened: conservative leaders meet to plot against Trump |
| (6 months later) | |
| 2.13am GMT | 2.13am GMT |
| 02:13 | 02:13 |
| Today in Campaign 2016 | Today in Campaign 2016 |
| Scott Bixby | Scott Bixby |
| With the dust finally settling after Super Tuesday: Civil War, Donald Trump’s hold on the race for the Republican presidential nomination is beginning to impact every element of the campaign, from his own party’s preparation for the convention in July to the presumptive Democratic nominee’s focus on the November general election. | With the dust finally settling after Super Tuesday: Civil War, Donald Trump’s hold on the race for the Republican presidential nomination is beginning to impact every element of the campaign, from his own party’s preparation for the convention in July to the presumptive Democratic nominee’s focus on the November general election. |
| That is, if she isn’t too busy sashaying on RuPaul’s Drag Race: | That is, if she isn’t too busy sashaying on RuPaul’s Drag Race: |
| As we count down the days until the next crucial set of primary contests, let’s look at the most important news from the campaign trail today: | As we count down the days until the next crucial set of primary contests, let’s look at the most important news from the campaign trail today: |
| That’s it for this evening - check us out tomorrow, the next day, and every day after that for up-to-the-minute coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign. | That’s it for this evening - check us out tomorrow, the next day, and every day after that for up-to-the-minute coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign. |
| 1.51am GMT | 1.51am GMT |
| 01:51 | 01:51 |
| Conservative leaders meet in Washington to plot anti-Trump candidacy | Conservative leaders meet in Washington to plot anti-Trump candidacy |
| Members of the Republican party leadership met privately today in the nation’s capital in the hopes of crafting a strategy that would bring about the end of billionaire frontrunner Donald Trump’s pursuit of the party’s presidential nomination, according to the Associated Press. | Members of the Republican party leadership met privately today in the nation’s capital in the hopes of crafting a strategy that would bring about the end of billionaire frontrunner Donald Trump’s pursuit of the party’s presidential nomination, according to the Associated Press. |
| Less than a week before another string of contests threatens to increase Trump’s considerable delegate lead over the remaining contenders for the party’s nomination, figures in the Republican establishment - which included commentator Erick Erickson and evangelical leader Bob Fischer - hoped “to strategize how to defeat Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, and if he is the Republican nominee for president, to offer a true conservative candidate in the general election.” | Less than a week before another string of contests threatens to increase Trump’s considerable delegate lead over the remaining contenders for the party’s nomination, figures in the Republican establishment - which included commentator Erick Erickson and evangelical leader Bob Fischer - hoped “to strategize how to defeat Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, and if he is the Republican nominee for president, to offer a true conservative candidate in the general election.” |
| In a statement released after the conclusion of the meeting, the party leaders called for a “unity ticket that unites the Republican Party.” Such a ticket would likely include at least one of the Republican presidential candidates who have suspended their campaigns in the face of the Trump juggernaut. The group declined, however, to endorse one of the remaining Republican candidates. | In a statement released after the conclusion of the meeting, the party leaders called for a “unity ticket that unites the Republican Party.” Such a ticket would likely include at least one of the Republican presidential candidates who have suspended their campaigns in the face of the Trump juggernaut. The group declined, however, to endorse one of the remaining Republican candidates. |
| “Lastly, we intend to keep our options open as to other avenues to oppose Donald Trump,” the statement said, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to a possible third-party run for the White House, either through a new party or the endorsement of a preexisting political party’s presidential ticket, like that of the Constitution Party. | “Lastly, we intend to keep our options open as to other avenues to oppose Donald Trump,” the statement said, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to a possible third-party run for the White House, either through a new party or the endorsement of a preexisting political party’s presidential ticket, like that of the Constitution Party. |
| 1.19am GMT | 1.19am GMT |
| 01:19 | 01:19 |
| Scott Bixby | Scott Bixby |
| Former first lady Laura Bush isn’t falling into the same trap that has ensnared so many other Republicans in recent weeks. | Former first lady Laura Bush isn’t falling into the same trap that has ensnared so many other Republicans in recent weeks. |
| In an interview with USA Today, the wife of former president George W Bush was tightlipped about whether she would vote for billionaire Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, who once slammed her husband as having been unable to prevent the September 11 terrorist attacks that occurred during the first year of his presidency. | In an interview with USA Today, the wife of former president George W Bush was tightlipped about whether she would vote for billionaire Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, who once slammed her husband as having been unable to prevent the September 11 terrorist attacks that occurred during the first year of his presidency. |
| “I’m not going to answer,” Bush told USA Today’s Capital Download. “Don’t ask that.” | “I’m not going to answer,” Bush told USA Today’s Capital Download. “Don’t ask that.” |
| Bush, who was promoting her new book, We Are Afghan Women: Voices of Hope, which makes the case for continued US troop presence in Afghanistan, told USA Today’s Susan Page that she hasn’t committed to vote for any of the remaining Republican candidates. Her brother-in-law, Jeb, dropped out of the race in February after a disappointing finish in the South Carolina primary. | Bush, who was promoting her new book, We Are Afghan Women: Voices of Hope, which makes the case for continued US troop presence in Afghanistan, told USA Today’s Susan Page that she hasn’t committed to vote for any of the remaining Republican candidates. Her brother-in-law, Jeb, dropped out of the race in February after a disappointing finish in the South Carolina primary. |
| “We got off the sidelines for Jeb,” she said. “He was our candidate.” | “We got off the sidelines for Jeb,” she said. “He was our candidate.” |
| She did venture to state her opinion on proposals adjacent to Trump - namely, the proposed ban on foreign Muslims from entering the United States, now supported by roughly two-thirds of the Republican electorate. | She did venture to state her opinion on proposals adjacent to Trump - namely, the proposed ban on foreign Muslims from entering the United States, now supported by roughly two-thirds of the Republican electorate. |
| “One of the reasons we are a country is because we believed in freedom of religion,” she said. “We believed that people could be religious. Or they could not worship, if they didn’t want to.” | “One of the reasons we are a country is because we believed in freedom of religion,” she said. “We believed that people could be religious. Or they could not worship, if they didn’t want to.” |
| “We do not have any religious test in the United States, and that’s what we need to remember - we need to remember what our values are.” | “We do not have any religious test in the United States, and that’s what we need to remember - we need to remember what our values are.” |
| The former first lady was once a Democrat before she married into the Bush political dynasty. | The former first lady was once a Democrat before she married into the Bush political dynasty. |
| 1.03am GMT | 1.03am GMT |
| 01:03 | 01:03 |
| Gimme a break! | Gimme a break! |
| I’ll air a full hour on Donald Trump, also including things I DON’T like about him, this Friday at 9pm ET @FoxBusiness | I’ll air a full hour on Donald Trump, also including things I DON’T like about him, this Friday at 9pm ET @FoxBusiness |
| 12.44am GMT | 12.44am GMT |
| 00:44 | 00:44 |
| Bernie Sanders said on Thursday he will not seek a recount of results in Missouri’s Democratic presidential primary, conceding defeat to Hillary Clinton. | Bernie Sanders said on Thursday he will not seek a recount of results in Missouri’s Democratic presidential primary, conceding defeat to Hillary Clinton. |
| “I think it’s unlikely the results will impact at all the number of delegates the candidate gets and I would prefer to save the taxpayers of Missouri some money,” Sanders said in an interview with the Associated Press. | “I think it’s unlikely the results will impact at all the number of delegates the candidate gets and I would prefer to save the taxpayers of Missouri some money,” Sanders said in an interview with the Associated Press. |
| “Whether we win by 200 votes or lose by 500, it’s not going to impact the delegate selection,” the Vermont senator added. “It’s going to be evenly divided.” | “Whether we win by 200 votes or lose by 500, it’s not going to impact the delegate selection,” the Vermont senator added. “It’s going to be evenly divided.” |
| Clinton ended Tuesday night with a narrow lead of 1,531 votes, but under state law, Sanders could have sought a recount because the margin was less than one-half of one percent. | Clinton ended Tuesday night with a narrow lead of 1,531 votes, but under state law, Sanders could have sought a recount because the margin was less than one-half of one percent. |
| Clinton will get an extra two delegates from Missouri for winning the statewide vote. | Clinton will get an extra two delegates from Missouri for winning the statewide vote. |
| 12.24am GMT | 12.24am GMT |
| 00:24 | 00:24 |
| Michigan governor Rick Snyder, who is under pressure to resign over his response to the ongoing Flint water crisis, appeared before the House oversight committee in Congress on Thursday morning, telling members that the tragedy weighs on his mind “day [and] night”. | Michigan governor Rick Snyder, who is under pressure to resign over his response to the ongoing Flint water crisis, appeared before the House oversight committee in Congress on Thursday morning, telling members that the tragedy weighs on his mind “day [and] night”. |
| Snyder has faced increasing criticism in recent weeks following revelations he was aware of the scale of the lead poisoning in the city months before he took action to address the problem. | Snyder has faced increasing criticism in recent weeks following revelations he was aware of the scale of the lead poisoning in the city months before he took action to address the problem. |
| 11.32pm GMT | 11.32pm GMT |
| 23:32 | 23:32 |
| Oliver Milman | Oliver Milman |
| Three bruising Congressional hearings into the Flint water crisis, possibly the gravest US public health emergency since Hurricane Katrina, have produced plenty of bluster and finger-pointing, but also troubling suggestions that America’s system of government is fundamentally broken. | Three bruising Congressional hearings into the Flint water crisis, possibly the gravest US public health emergency since Hurricane Katrina, have produced plenty of bluster and finger-pointing, but also troubling suggestions that America’s system of government is fundamentally broken. |
| A procession of elected officials, mayors, regulators and an emergency manager have appeared before the inquiry since February, to be berated over how a poverty-stricken city of 100,000 people was fed poisoned water for over a year before anyone started to heed warnings that all was not well. An estimated 8,000 Flint children risk growing up with learning and developmental problems due to the lead that leached into their drinking supply. | A procession of elected officials, mayors, regulators and an emergency manager have appeared before the inquiry since February, to be berated over how a poverty-stricken city of 100,000 people was fed poisoned water for over a year before anyone started to heed warnings that all was not well. An estimated 8,000 Flint children risk growing up with learning and developmental problems due to the lead that leached into their drinking supply. |
| America’s complex web of water regulations gave ample opportunity for those questioned to hurl blame at others. There was no shortage of targets. At the time Flint fatefully switched its water supply to the Flint river in April 2014, the decision was made by a state-appointed emergency manager, a sort of financial tsar with wide-ranging powers. But there was still a mayor, a council, a state regulator, the governor the regulator reported to and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Everybody, yet nobody, was responsible. | America’s complex web of water regulations gave ample opportunity for those questioned to hurl blame at others. There was no shortage of targets. At the time Flint fatefully switched its water supply to the Flint river in April 2014, the decision was made by a state-appointed emergency manager, a sort of financial tsar with wide-ranging powers. But there was still a mayor, a council, a state regulator, the governor the regulator reported to and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Everybody, yet nobody, was responsible. |
| 11.06pm GMT | 11.06pm GMT |
| 23:06 | 23:06 |
| Esther Addley | Esther Addley |
| It was intended, according to its creator, as a “warning to America”, a horrifying and fantastical vision of the future in which the US – ludicrously – had elected as its president Donald Trump. | It was intended, according to its creator, as a “warning to America”, a horrifying and fantastical vision of the future in which the US – ludicrously – had elected as its president Donald Trump. |
| But with the property billionaire now the favourite to gain the Republican nomination for the presidency, the episode of The Simpsons that in 2000 foresaw such a laughable outcome has begun looking unnervingly prescient. | But with the property billionaire now the favourite to gain the Republican nomination for the presidency, the episode of The Simpsons that in 2000 foresaw such a laughable outcome has begun looking unnervingly prescient. |
| A possible future Trump presidency, said the episode’s writer Dan Greaney, “just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom. It was pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane”. | A possible future Trump presidency, said the episode’s writer Dan Greaney, “just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom. It was pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane”. |
| 10.45pm GMT | 10.45pm GMT |
| 22:45 | 22:45 |
| Shaun Walker | Shaun Walker |
| A few months ago, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin seemed on course to becoming best buddies. | A few months ago, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin seemed on course to becoming best buddies. |
| Asked in December for his view of the Republican presidential frontrunner, the Russian president described him as “a colourful and talented person without any doubt” and “the absolute leader of the presidential race”. Trump welcomed the praise, saying: “It is always a great honour to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond.” | Asked in December for his view of the Republican presidential frontrunner, the Russian president described him as “a colourful and talented person without any doubt” and “the absolute leader of the presidential race”. Trump welcomed the praise, saying: “It is always a great honour to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond.” |
| Any cosiness has been brought to an abrupt halt, however, after Trump lumped Putin in with Islamic State in a bizarre campaign ad featuring Hillary Clinton barking like a dog. | Any cosiness has been brought to an abrupt halt, however, after Trump lumped Putin in with Islamic State in a bizarre campaign ad featuring Hillary Clinton barking like a dog. |
| The video, posted on Trump’s Instagram account, attempts to cast doubt over the Democratic party frontrunner’s ability to deal with Putin and America’s opponents in general, showing the Russian leader throwing an opponent in a judo bout, and an Islamist militant gesturing at the camera with a gun. | The video, posted on Trump’s Instagram account, attempts to cast doubt over the Democratic party frontrunner’s ability to deal with Putin and America’s opponents in general, showing the Russian leader throwing an opponent in a judo bout, and an Islamist militant gesturing at the camera with a gun. |
| “When it comes to facing our toughest opponents, the Democrats have the perfect answer,” the video says, before cutting to footage of Clinton imitating a dog at a recent campaign event. | “When it comes to facing our toughest opponents, the Democrats have the perfect answer,” the video says, before cutting to footage of Clinton imitating a dog at a recent campaign event. |
| The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had seen the clip but did not know if Putin had. “Our attitude is negative,” he said. | The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had seen the clip but did not know if Putin had. “Our attitude is negative,” he said. |
| 10.22pm GMT | 10.22pm GMT |
| 22:22 | 22:22 |
| Billionaire Republican frontrunner Donald Trump got flack this week for saying that he primarily consults with himself on foreign policy issues, “because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.” | Billionaire Republican frontrunner Donald Trump got flack this week for saying that he primarily consults with himself on foreign policy issues, “because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.” |
| Speaking of just who presidential candidates are consulting on international relations, fellow candidate Ted Cruz has chosen an interesting addition to his shadow cabinet of advisers: Frank Gaffney, the founder of think tank Center for Security Policy dubbed “one of America’s most notorious Islamophobes” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. | Speaking of just who presidential candidates are consulting on international relations, fellow candidate Ted Cruz has chosen an interesting addition to his shadow cabinet of advisers: Frank Gaffney, the founder of think tank Center for Security Policy dubbed “one of America’s most notorious Islamophobes” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. |
| Gaffney, who has speculated that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim and that Saddam Hussein was the mastermind of the Oklahoma City bombing, was the orchestrator of the poll that Trump has used to justify his proposed ban on foreign Muslims from entering the United States. That poll, which purported to show that “25% of [American Muslims] polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad” and that 51% of those polled “agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah,” has been widely lambasted as methodologically incorrect. | Gaffney, who has speculated that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim and that Saddam Hussein was the mastermind of the Oklahoma City bombing, was the orchestrator of the poll that Trump has used to justify his proposed ban on foreign Muslims from entering the United States. That poll, which purported to show that “25% of [American Muslims] polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad” and that 51% of those polled “agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah,” has been widely lambasted as methodologically incorrect. |
| Despite the popularity of his work with the Trump campaign, Gaffney has taken on the role of Cruz’s top adviser on national security and foreign policy. | Despite the popularity of his work with the Trump campaign, Gaffney has taken on the role of Cruz’s top adviser on national security and foreign policy. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 10.34pm GMT | at 10.34pm GMT |
| 10.16pm GMT | 10.16pm GMT |
| 22:16 | 22:16 |
| AP calls Missouri primary for Hillary Clinton | AP calls Missouri primary for Hillary Clinton |
| Well, that took ’em long enough. | Well, that took ’em long enough. |
| BREAKING: Hillary Clinton wins Missouri Democratic primary. @AP race call at 6:06 p.m. EST. #Election2016 #APracecall. | BREAKING: Hillary Clinton wins Missouri Democratic primary. @AP race call at 6:06 p.m. EST. #Election2016 #APracecall. |