Welcome to Breitbart News’s daily live updates of the 2016 horse race.
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11.20: Even if Donald Trump wins the GOP nomination, the general election is going to be tough:
10:26: Mexico’s former president is being driven up the wall by Donald Trump, who now says Trump reminds him of Adolf Hitler.
8:00: Trump says, “how about if I don’t do the next debate?” He says he will, though. The next debate is Fox News’s/Megyn Kelly’s. Trump says the networks should donate some of the proceeds to vets.
He also says that because of him, the debates are ridiculous and have become the “Super Bowl of cable television.”
Trump says he can recite what everyone is going to say and even jokes that he knows Carson will justifiably complain that he is not getting enough air time.
7:55: After it takes a bit of time for a protester to be removed, Trump says “in the good old days, law enforcement acted a lot quicker.” Trump says he loves the police but “they are afraid to move” because they want to keep their jobs and not lose their pensions. He says “everybody is politically correct” and “our country is going to hell.” He says America is becoming a “frightened country and it’s very, very sad.”
Trump says waterboarding is “just fine” and “if you want to go a step above–or two or three steps above–“then that’s fine too.”
7:42: Trump also says Rubio had a “credit card problem” in Florida. This may be the first time Trump has brought up Rubio’s “credit card problem” after vowing last week that he would hit back at Rubio if Rubio started to attack him. He says Rubio was “taking from the Republican Party” and “having his driveway done and all of this” on the Florida GOP’s credit card. Trump says “the man doing the investigation is furious” because “they are not listening to him” and maybe Trump should interview him. Trump says it will be “embarrassing” if he beats Cruz in Texas and Rubio in Florida.
7:37: Trump says he is self-finding his campaign and blasts Rubio for buying a house for having $178,000 and selling it to a lobbyists for $389,000 while he had legislation before him.
7:35: In Oklahoma, Trump blasts “little Marco” for for “sweating” profusely and not being “presidential.” Trump is trying to make the “choker” label stick and stories like this won’t help Rubio:
But to those who have known him longest, Rubio’s flustered performance Saturday night fit perfectly with an all-too-familiar strain of his personality, one that his handlers and image-makers have labored for years to keep out of public view. Though generally seen as cool-headed and quick on his feet, Rubio is known to friends, allies, and advisers for a kind of incurable anxiousness — and an occasional propensity to panic in moments of crisis, both real and imagined.
This jittery restlessness has manifested itself throughout Rubio’s life, from high school football games in Miami to high-profile policy fights in Washington — and in some ways, it’s been the driving force in his rapid political rise.
6:37: Trump dominant in Super Tuesday states:
6:30: Top Christie backer Ken Langone tells the Wall Street Journal that he thinks Trump will change things for the better as president.
Ken Langone, the billionaire Home Depot founder who was Mr. Christie’s top fundraiser, said Mr. Trump would be a great president, even though he personally was backing Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
“I think if Trump is going to become president, things are going to change and for the better,” he said. “I’m not concerned in the least. For Chrissake, we had eight years of this guy [President Barack Obama]. If I was going to be concerned, I should have been concerned eight years ago. [President George W.] Bush was no prize either.”
6:25: GOP establishment poo-bah Fred Malek ‘disappointed’ Christie endorsed Trump:
“I have a high regard of Gov. Christie and always thought he was a straight shooter. But I have a sharp difference of opinion with him. I’m disappointed,” Malek told Mashable. “It changes the narrative very quickly and suddenly and certainly not in a direction that I think is a good idea.”
6:22: Fox News chyron: Rubio: Trump Is a Clown
6:20: Rubio trailing Trump in Rubio’s home state on all important issues:
6:13: Christie Endorsement Hurt Rubio in betting markets
6:05: Rapper Killer Mike introducing Sanders at South Carolina rally:
5:45: On MSNBC, ex-Cruz communications Tyler said Cruz was right and “he had to do what he had to do.” Regarding spreading around the video that falsely depicted Rubio mocking the Bible, says he made an “error” and apologized for it. Chuck Todd thinks that Tyler may have been a victim of the “fast news cycle.” Tyler says he’s not “mad about it” and the campaign was “one of the greatest experiences of his life.” He says Cruz is a “remarkably gifted guy” and Tyler loves his family. He says Cruz has a path to victory but that has narrowed. Tyler says Cruz can be the anti-Trump alternative if Cruz wins two super Tuesday states and Rubio doesn’t win a state. Tyler says Rubio’s campaign will “unravel” if he loses Florida.
Tyler says Trump has been succeeding because “he’s taking it to Washington. People are really hurting out there.” He says they are tired of the politicians. Tyler doubts that Trump can change things in Washington but Americans who are tired of politics and have been “hammered” believe he can.
5:15: Maine Gov. LePage, who made illegal immigration a big issue in his reelection campaign and opposed accepting Syrian refugees, endorses Trump.
5:05: More good poll numbers for Trump:
5:02: Cruz: Christie’s Trump endorsement “troubling” for Rubio:
5:00: Trump trying to make “chocker” label stick to Rubio like “low-energy” did to Jeb!:
4:55: Rubio’s team criticizing Trump for not being “articulate.”
4:45: Cruz says a Hillary v. Trump will be a race between “two rich New Yorkers.” And he rips Trump for hiring foreign workers instead of Americans at his Florida resort and claiming that there were Americans who did not want to be waiters and waitresses. Cruz points out that is an “astonishing statement” to make to millions who have worked at places like TGI Fridays. Cruz says he is the only person who has consistently stood up for working men and women against the corrupt politicians.
4:05: [Tony Lee] Rubio Misfired When He Tried to Attack Trump for His Twitter Typos:
For arguably the first time in this campaign cycle, Rubio received live coverage from all the cable networks. And he may have inadvertently blown it. Rubio allies are praising him for ripping Trump this morning and afternoon, but his attacks may backfire on him in three ways.
First, nobody cares about typos on Twitter because everybody has made them while Tweeting quickly. Second, Rubio repeated Trump’s criticisms of him–that he is a lightweight and a choker who melts down–on national television and it will be replayed over and over again. Guess what? Voters may start to think that he is a choker. At the very least, Rubio ensured that more voters became aware of Trump’s criticisms of him as a “chocker.” All he did was give those criticisms more airtime. Genius. Third, when a politician’s actions do not line up with the image that he has tried to project to voters, he comes across as a phony in an election cycle when voters are craving anti-establishment “authenticity.” And that’s what happened to Rubio when he implied that foreigners can’t spell while criticizing Trump:
So how does this guy, not one tweet, but three tweets misspell words so badly?
I only reach two conclusions. Number one, that’s how they spell those words at the Wharton School of Business where he went.
Or number two, just like Trump Tower, he must have hired a foreign worker to do his own tweets.
Trump can make such comments because he has presented himself to voters as someone who is unapologetic, brash, and politically incorrect. Rubio, on the other hand, can’t because he is presenting himself as Mr. “Rainbow/Benetton/Politically Correct” so attacks like that make him seem more like a phony and goes against the core of his brand.
Rubio and his allies may be cheering his debate performance and “cute soundbites,” but they may not realize he is coming across as “that guy” who desperately hurls insult after insult at the guy who is dating the girl he has always wanted. It’s funny that Rubio’s allies in the permanent political/punditry class seem way more like “that guy” than the guy who gets the girl, and that is why they are myopically high-fiving each other over Rubio’s performance. The joke may be on Rubio and his “smart set” of “experts” in the end.
4:05: Drudge Report Headline: Trump Campaign Juggernaut:
3:59: Team Rubio mocking Trump’s ties:
3:55: Cruz jokes about Trump’s hair:
3:49: The Washington Post’s useful/idiot & residence dunce mocks Christie’s looks/weight:
3:45: Interesting observation:
3:39: Joel Pollak on double standards as disgruntled GOP donors do research on a potential independent presidential bid:
3:31: Trump up in Virginia:
3:30: Team Kasich thinks Putin would be a great running mate for Trump :
3:28: Huh? Stump for Trump Sisters:
“Marco Rubio told us to Google Donald Trump, but I did one better, I Googled him,” Lynette “Diamond” Hardaway told CNN on Friday morning. “And when I Googled him — you know, he owes America and the gay community an apology, because it sounds like that he may have had a gay lifestyle in his past. So you have to be cautious when you tell people to Google people. Stuff will come up.”
3:25: Failed Jeb! campaign manager on Christie endorsement: “Fat Kid” Gave Lunch Money to Bully
3:15: Rubio, in Oklahoma City, says Trump won’t be the nominee and Republicans cannot allow the Party of Reagan to be taken over by a “con man.” He concedes that Trump is the “frontrunner” and that is why there is a “sense of urgency” to stop him. He says the GOP is built on “optimism” and “limited government.” He blasts Trump for praising Planned Parenthood and accuses Trump of not wanting to take sides re: Israel/Palestinians. He says, “we will win Florida.” He says “the time or action is now” and says Trump is “pulling the ultimate con job” on Americans. He blasts Trump for sticking it to the working man and hiring foreign workers when he is defending working men and railing against illegal immigration on the stump.
3:00: American Future Fund Launching Ads Ripping Trump for Trump Univ.:
2:55: After getting fired (thrown under the bus) by the Cruz campaign, Rick Tyler is now an MSNBC contributor:
2:50: [Tony Lee] In a wacky election cycle [Trump supporters who hated Christie now like him and pro-Rubio establishment Republicans who gushed over Christie for years now hate him], it is interesting that Trump, minus the David Duke endorsement that he disavowed, has gotten the endorsement from across the GOP spectrum (Sarah Palin, Chris Christie, Scott Brown, etc.). In the 2014 election cycle, Joni Ernst, whose top consultant is Rubio’s top strategist, got praised as a “unifier” for getting the support of Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin. Silence from the establishment after Trump gets the endorsements from people at the opposite ends of the GOP spectrum like Palin/Christie.
2:47: No unified establishment front against Trump with Christie’s endorsement:
2:45: Bill Kristol:
Flashback:
2:42: Interesting team of rivals to say the least:
2:40: Paster Jeffers appears at Trump’s rally and says Trump has 100 billion reasons not to run for President, but he wants to make American great again. Jeffers says Trump is pro-life and people like Hillary Clinton do not have pro-life conversion stories. Jeffers also says Trump love Evangelicals and “we who are Evangelical Christians will have a true friend in the White House” if Trump is elected. Trump says Christianity is “under siege” and every year it gets “weaker and weaker and weaker.” He said pastors told him months ago that they were afraid of endorsing him because they may lose their tax-exempt status. Trump says he is going to “work like hell” to get rid of that prohibition and “we’re going to have the strongest Christian lobby. It’s going to happen.”
2:39: Trump praises Sarah Palin’s endorsement and the impact it has had. Earlier, he said Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio endorsed him because he is the toughest on the border.
2:37: Ingraham called Christie’s endorsement:
2:35: Coulter thrilled that Christie has endorsed Trump:
2:33: Romney in Coulter’s dog house:
2:25: Trump Attacks Fox Again:
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox is the gift that keeps on giving for Trump. It is worth noting that Fox was President George W. Bush’s first State dinner guest as they tried to work out an open-borders/amnesty deal. Then the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred, and their open-borders agenda got derailed.
In response to Fox’s comments about not paying for that “fu*cking wall” [worth noting that Fox seems to have accepted the reality that Trump will follow through on his campaign promise and actually build the wall if he gets elected president], Trump says, “that’s the way other countries are used to talking to the United States. No more. He couldn’t believe that somebody would say Mexico would have to do something”
Trump says it’s that way with Japan, China, Vietnam, India. He says these countries want to be treated with “tremendous respect” even though they don’t treat America with any respect.
2:22: Trump also says he will “open up” those libel laws to sue papers like the New York Times and the Washington Post for hit pieces like “you’ve never been sued before” in order to make “lots of money.”
2:20: Trump also says that Cruz is “tougher” and “smarter” than Rubio. He says Cruz’s lies are at least “reasonable” while Rubio is just a “lightweight” and a “low-life.”
2:19: Trump says he would not accept Romney’s endorsement even if Romney wanted to endorse him. He says Romney and Jeb! are likely to endorse Rubio. Earlier, Trump Rubio will not be his running mate.
2:17: At Trump’s rally in Texas, he ridicules Mitt Romney for walking like a Penguin:
2:14: At Trump’s Texas rally, he mocks Rubio for gulping water during his State of the Union response. He says Rubio is a “choker” and that may stick to him like “low-energy” did to Jeb! because there is a pattern:
1:59 pm – Trump warms on Cruz–just a little.
1:50 pm- Whaaa? Kasich in the spin room last night:
1:49 pm – Trump goes tit for tat, reprises Rubio “makeup” story:
1:48 pm – Rubio senior adviser says the attacks are meant to drive attention to Marco’s policy positions:
1:38 pm – Christie stumps for Trump:
1:34 pm – HuffPo’s home page gets some blasphemy in their hot take:
1:34 pm – Jeb Bush’s comms director:
1:29 pm – Fox News anchor Judge Jeanine Pirro:
1:27 pm – This east-coast teamup could strengthen Cruz in Texas re: the “New York liberal” line of attack:
1:24 pm – Gingrich: Christie may have opened up the establishment lane for Trump.
1:20 pm – John Kasich reveals endorsement of former NJ Gov. Christine Todd Whitman.
1:17 pm – Trump repeats attacks on Rubio, condensed: “He doesn’t have the talent, he doesn’t have the temperament, he can never make us great.”
1:16 pm – Trump: “I used to call Ted Cruz a liar, but now I’ll call Marco Rubio [one].”
1:13 pm – Trump says “every single year I am audited” and my wealthy friends barely ever are.
1:10 pm – Trump says Rubio “abandoned Florida” and, in contrast, he has “invested hundreds of millions” into the state.
1:07 pm – Another ex-presidential candidate says Christie isn’t being principled:
https://twitter.com/RickSantorum/status/703280150423736325 [looks like Santorum quickly deleted]
1:06 pm – Christie keeps hammering at the Senator candidates: “Turn away from the amateur acts from Washington, DC.”
1:02 pm – Reporter asks Donald Trump about David Duke’s endorsement. “I disavow it,” Trump responds.
1:01 pm – Christie says Rubio is “wholly unprepared” for job of presidency and Trump has lots of experience putting together budgets and making “executive decisions.”
1:00 pm – Christie said he made final decision to endorse Trump yesterday.
12:57 pm – Trump tells reporters he’ll win the “Trump University” civil lawsuit. Reporter tries to compare that to Hillary Clinton’s classified email investigation; Christie gets in the reporter’s grill and calls it “ridiculous.”
12:56 pm – Trump brings up his own backstage debate anecdote to mock Rubio–that he was putting on too much makeup, had to use a “trowel.”
12:55 pm – Christie sounding a bit more natural, less rehearsed as he pivots to trashing Rubio’s campaign speech from this morning.
12:52 pm – Trump, Christie call Rubio “desperate” because he’s down in Florida polls.
12:52 pm – Christie says Trump has the best chance against Hillary Clinton, not “junior Senators.” Trump is “rewriting the playbook,” he says.
12:50 pm – Chris Christie: “I am proud to be here to endorse Donald Trump to be President of the United States.”
12:49 pm – Whoa.
12:48 pm – Hm?
12:36 pm – Fluff, fluff, fluff:
12:34 pm – Whoa.
12:29 pm – Cruz takes aim at Trump’s populist image:
12:27 pm – Via Charlie Spiering, a montage of Rubio’s “con artist” talking point:
12:25 pm – Cruz rally right now: says Trump had a tough night but goes with a more positive message.
12:22 pm – Our National Security Editor Frances Martel remarks: Somebody’s looking to be ambassador to Pyongyang!
12:13 pm – Dave Weigel with the bantz!
12:09 pm – Breitbart’s Charlie Spiering’s full report on Rubio’s insult-laden stump speech:
Rubio pulled out his smartphone and read Trump’s multiple tweets that called him a “chocker” to a raucous crowd of supporters who cheered him on for taking on the billionaire candidate.
He also mocked Trump, alleging he was “having a meltdown” during the debate, accusing him of putting makeup on his “sweat mustache” and asking for a full length mirror during the break.
12:08 pm – Trump spox Katrina Pierson floats a response to Rubio’s new tough tone:
12:04 pm – Trump Facebook video–what I would do on my first day in office:
12:02 pm – Can I get a “Why We Lose,” @NolteNC?
12:00 pm – Kasich is feeling good in LaHood.
11:58 am – Whoa! Report claims Hillary Clinton still isn’t on the primary ballot for Delaware. Signature deadline is TODAY:
11:53 am – The liberal magazine Newsweek isn’t impressed with Rubio’s debate performance: “Like a hormonal teenager with control issues, Rubio blurted [his Trump attacks] out so quickly that the fusillade fell flat.”
11:34 am – Trump has fixed and reposted the misspelled tweets after Rubio mocked them in his stump speech.
11:32 am – Rubio’s web page starts a “Stop Donald Trump” campaign:
11:29 am – Marco gets savage!
11:25 am – “Donald Trump has never punched anyone in the face.”
11:19 am – Glenn Beck on Rubio’s chances.
11:15 am – Rubio rally in Texas–slamming Trump, quiet so far on Cruz.
11:13 am – Someone was gonna do it at some point.
11:10 am – Big ratings for last night’s debate.
10:50 am – Media mocks Trump’s Twitter typos. Politico wonders if Trump is intentionally trolling.
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10:31 am – Another poll shows Trump has a new ceiling over 40%
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8:47 am – Trump calls it an “honer” that he won all the post-debate polls:
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8:28 am – Trump rips Rubio as a “choker” and “lightweight”
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8:07 am – Rubio’s fans are complaining about Trump dominating all the post-debate coverage but Rubio always disappears after these debates. He’s never around to be interviewed.
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8:01 am – Seven Reasons Democrats Should Be Terrified of Donald Trump
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7:44 am – Trump dominates in Friday’s new round of polls
Mass: Trump +21 — Trump 40, Rubio 19, Cruz 10
Mich: Trump +24 — Trump 41, Rubio 17, Cruz 14
Florida: Trump +20 — Trump 45, Rubio 25, Cruz 10
Virginia: Trump +14 — Trump 41, Rubio 27, Cruz 14
Georgia: Trump +26 — Trump 45, Rubio 19, Cruz 16
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7:31 am – RubioRobot calls Trump a “con man’ 5 times on CBS morning show.
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