Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Trump calls for GOP unity, eyes Ohio and Florida after trouncing rivals in Michigan and Mississippi
On the heels of his sizzling victories in the Mississippi and Michigan primaries and the Hawaii caucuses, Donald Trump is calling for unity in the race for the Republican presidential nomination because the GOP frontrunner believes none of his rivals can catch him.
“I would love to see the party come together and unify,” Trump said on CNN’s “New Day” on Wednesday. “I would say at [this] point it’s pretty tough for anybody to do anything.”
Not that Trump is planning to shift his strategy of attacking those who attack him.
“I am a uniter,” he said. “But I have to finish off the project. You know, I can’t all of a sudden stand there and let people — you know, [Florida Sen.] Marco [Rubio] was very, very nasty to me, I have to tell you. He was very, very nasty to me, and I guess he made a mistake, because I was more nasty to him. You have to finish off what you have to finish off. I can’t say all of a sudden, you know, let them make statements.”
But the brash billionaire believes Thursday’s GOP debate won’t be as fiery as most of the others.
“I think the debate tomorrow night will be a softer debate,” Trump said. “I really do. I believe it’s going to be a softer debate. I hope it’s going to be a softer debate. I can tell you that I go in much more as a uniter. … I think the wins last night were very, very big ones and very decisive ones.”
Trump speaks as Rubio, left, and Cruz listen during a Republican presidential primary debate in Houston on Feb. 25. (Photo: David J. Phillip/AP)
Although an NBC News/Wall Street Journal national poll had Trump up just three points on Texas Sen. Ted Cruz heading into Tuesday’s GOP contests, he more than tripled that margin in all but one state.
The real estate mogul and former “Celebrity Apprentice” star finished 12 points ahead of Cruz in Michigan, 11 points ahead of him in Mississippi and just under 10 points ahead in Hawaii.
“If we could embrace this moment as a party, we’re going to win so easily,” Trump said. “We’re going to win Michigan. We’re going to win New York, possibly. We’re going to win areas and states that were never in play before and would never be in play for any of these other candidates. I mean, Ted Cruz cannot win these states.”
And according to two new CNN/ORC polls released Wednesday, Trump is leading Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich in their home states. In Florida, Trump has a 16-point advantage (40 percent to 24 percent) over Rubio; in Ohio, Trump’s lead over Kasich (41 percent to 35 percent) is six points, the polls show.
“The Democrats can’t beat us,” Trump said. “The only way they’re going to beat us is if we keep fighting so stupidly.”
Trump doesn’t think Bernie Sanders’ surprising upset over Hillary Clinton in Michigan is a turning point in the Democratic race.
“No, I think she’ll get the nomination, assuming she is allowed to run, which she probably will because the Democrats will make sure nothing happens to her,” he said. “Assuming she is allowed to run legally, I think that, yes, she’ll definitely get the nomination. This is just a bump. But losing Michigan is more than a bump in the general [election], because it says the people don’t want her.”
Looking ahead to that general election on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Trump said he would even consider Rubio for his running mate.
“Sure,” Trump said. “He’s got a lot of talent. I just don’t want to say that yet.”
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