Trump countered with a mild effort at detente, saying he’d called Rubio a “lightweight” in the past, but “he’s really not that much of a lightweight”.
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Holding his hands up for the audience to see, Trump said: “I guarantee you, there’s no problem”.
It was a jaw-dropping moment in a campaign that’s been full of surprises from the beginning.
On the issue of the economy and jobs, Trump was picked as best for dealing with that issue as president by almost two thirds (64%) of survey respondents, with Marco Rubio (17%) and Ted Cruz (13%) finishing a distant second and third, respectively.
Not all on the right are willing to pledge opposition to Trump.
He said it was fine that Rubio had negotiated with other lawmakers on immigration policy. He also abruptly changed his position on foreign workers, saying more of them who are highly skilled should be allowed to remain in the United States. “Flexible is Washington code word that he’s going to stick it to the people”, Cruz said Friday.
Cruz suggested Trump would be the wrong candidate to send into battle against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton because he has supported her financially in the past. “I’m not running for president”, he said. “Being a conservative can not simply be about how long you’re willing to scream, how angry you’re willing to be, or how many names you’re willing to call people”.
Despite the support of many elected officials, Rubio trails the two frontrunners in overall delegate count, raising serious questions about his viability in the race.
Romney’s speech came hours before Trump and his rivals share a stage in Detroit at 9 p.m. EST (0200 GMT Friday) for a debate hosted by Fox News. I think we did very well. I’ve never heard of this.
After all this was over, commentators pointed out that Mr. Trump could not explain his stance on many issues.
“Nice to be with you, Megyn”, Trump said, as she asked her first question. “If somebody tells them something, can they believe it?”
He labeled Trump part of the problem, not the solution, accusing him of being “someone who has used government power for private gain”.
That split widened when Mr Romney, the party nominee in 2012, urged Republican primary voters to vote tactically in different states to back Mr Trump’s opponents and block his path to the nomination.
“Mitt Romney is a stiff”, Trump told NBC’s “Today” program.
“Obviously he wants to be relevant; he wants to be back in the game”, Trump said.
With Ben Carson’s exit from the race this week, the field of Republican candidates has now been narrowed to four, including Texas Sen. Cruz and Ohio Gov. Kasich.
Cruz demanded Trump release an audiotape of an off-the-record session he had with New York Times editorial writers on January 5. Trump, who dismissed Kelly as a “lightweight” and a “bimbo”, ended up boycotting a subsequent Fox debate, claiming the network was unfair.
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Trump signaled he was ready for a truce. At the rally, the billionaire businessman had supporters raise their hands and swear to vote for him. Cruz has 231, Rubio 110 and Kasich 25.
