“John Kasich is the one candidate in OH that can beat Donald Trump”. And that’s the frustration that is boiling over”, Cruz said when asked if he was concerned that the behavior of some of Trump’s supporters would hurt the Republican Party in the general election.
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A restrained Trump used the latest presidential debate to send a none-too-subtle message to Republicans still wary of his insurgent candidacy: “Be smart and unify”.
The announcement that Trump would postpone the Friday night rally led a large portion of the crowd inside the University of IL at Chicago Pavilion to break out into raucous cheers. Trump has amassed 459 of the 1,237 delegates needed to claim the Republican nomination, followed by Cruz with 360, Rubio with 152 and Kasich with 54, according to a tally compiled by the Associated Press. Ted Cruz – sidestepped a question about whether outbursts of violence at Trump’s rallies and his statements encouraging supporters to aggressively take on protesters concerned them.
But he scoffed on Thursday at the suggestion that his presidency had fuelled the chaos among the Republicans.
Rubio, fighting for his political life, said it is Trump who could destroy the party given the many Republicans who vow never to support the NY real estate mogul.
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton said the rhetoric at Trump’s rallies is of “grave concern” and President Barack Obama told a fundraising event in Dallas, Texas that political leaders “should be trying to bring us together and not turning us against one another”.
“Trump represents everything America is not and everything Chicago is not”, said Kamran Siddiqui, 20, a student at the school who was among those celebrating.
Without mentioning Trump by name, Clinton said Friday that “when you run for president, it matters what you say”.
Rubio was championed by party luminaries as the best mainstream hope of derailing Trump, but he has performed dreadfully in several recent primary contests, including those Tuesday.
Over the last few months, Kasich would rarely speak negatively of Trump or any of the other candidates, even when consistently prodded. “We would’ve had a problem like you wouldn’t have believed”, he said.
At Trump’s rally earlier Friday in St. Louis, he was repeatedly interrupted by protesters.
“There is no place for this”, Kasich added. “It has consequences, here and around the world”, said the Florida senator, to applause.
“When the candidate urges supporters to engage in physical violence, to punch people in the face, the predictable outcome of that is that is escalates”, he said.
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Trump has two rallies in OH today, in Dayton and Cleveland. “Hey, Bernie, get your people in line, Bernie!”
