Trump says he was in Orlando today for a rally and 20k people showed up. He says they turned 10k people away. He says he's a movement. (He sounds like Bernie.)
He says Hillary shouldn't be allowed to run because of her emails. He trashes her slogan "Make America Whole." He says she probably means America is in a hole. He says his slogan, "Make America Great Again," is much better.
Trump praises the late Justice Scalia and says he's a good friend of his sister who is a federal judge. He will appoint a very conservative judge to replace Scalia.
If Republicans run a third party candidate against him, Hillary will win. It will be impossible for either the Republican or third party candidate to win. That means a Democrat will appoint 3, 4 or 5 Supreme Court judges.
Trump bashes the press and then says he'll take a few questions from the dishonest media.
Trump hyperbole: He says he's taken more questions from reporters than any human who's ever lived.
Another (Paraphrase:) I will be the most presidential candidate in history. I will be Abe Lincoln.
He doesn't mention John Kasich. So far no reporter has asked him about Kasich.
In response to a question about Ted Cruz, he calls Cruz "Lyin' Ted." "What he did to Ben Carson was a disgrace...Ben Carson is a great, great guy."
He says "Politicians lie and do bad things." He thought Republicans had a great debate this week and he did very well.
He will help Republicans fund-raise. Not for him, since he's self-funding his campaign, but for others.
Waterboarding: "[I said before]I am totally in favor of waterboarding and if I could, I would do more than that. But We have laws and regulations. ISIS has nothing. They chop off heads. They drop a cage in the water and bring it up and there are 30 dead people. And we're concerned about waterboarding? "
But even though he supports torture, he will obey the laws we have. "I will try to get the laws broadened and extended." Why? It's hard to beat someone "when your rules are soft" and they have no rules.
"We're going to knock out ISIS so violently and so fast." ISIS is a "vicious group of animals."
According to Fox News, the current Republican delegate count:
- Trump 347
- Cruz: 267
- Rubio: 116
- Kasich: 28
Do any Republicans have a strategy for preventing Trump from being their nominee? Nothing but wishful thinking, as far as I can tell. For example, according to Kasich, there will be more than 1,000 delegates up for grabs, even after Ohio and Florida. He thinks he fits the profile of Republicans in Indiana, WI, Utah, AZ, California.
Cruz and Rubio totally lacks a strategy, as far as I can tell. With Cruz and Kasich competing in Ohio against Trump, and Rubio and Cruz fighting Trump in Florida, how do they do anything but split the vote, which won't defeat Trump?
Republican rules say a candidate has to win 8 state to have their names put in play at the convention. Cruz has won 6 states. He only needs 2 more. But how do Rubio and Kasich get the nomination? Also, Cruz has been winning mostly in caucus states, while Trump does better in primary states. More primary than caucus battles are coming up.
I'm convinced Trump will be the nominee. I could care less what Romney and McCain think. Cruz and Rubio are going to be footnotes. And Cruz is too evangelical to get the party behind him, let alone have a chance of winning in November. Hillary will walk, rather than run, into the Oval Office if Cruz is the nominee. And Trump has cleverly made Florida into his second home, which detracts from Rubio "favorite son" status.
I think it's time for the media to switch gears. I want to know who Trump is likely to pick for his top advisers. Since Trump has no political experience, that's who will be running the country if Trump wins.
Does anyone remember there are Democrats in this race? Today, Kansas caucus goers preferred Bernie Sanders. Nebraska Dems also went for Bernie, Hillary won big in Louisiana and Kentucky. The Washington Post says:
Clinton’s forceful projected win in delegate-rich Louisiana keeps her vast delegate lead for the Democratic party’s nomination intact.
Hillary and Bernie will have a town hall meeting Monday night. Why? I don't see how this helps Hillary, it just keeps Bernie in the spotlight when it's apparent to almost everyone he can't win the nomination.