USA Today’s Page: If Trump Keeps Winning ‘On What Basis Do You Even Get To A Contested Convention’

On “Fox News Sunday,” the Washington Bureau chief of USA TODAY, Susan Page said if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wins every place except Texas on Super Tuesday, “on what basis do you even get to a contested convention?”

Partial transcript as follows:

WALLACE: And a number of our viewers agreed. Lee Burnham posted this on FaceBook. “It has turned into a circus. I fear for our country. Where is some principled, mature, and reasoned leadership?” Susan, how do you answer Lee and will all of this, the quote so- called circus, is that going to hurt Republicans in the fall?

SUSAN PAGE, “USA TODAY”: I think it will. You know, I think the evidence is, is that taking sort of — being a bully and playground kind of taunts has not hurt Donald Trump up until now. I think it may hurt Marco Rubio, for instance, whose persona has been a much more positive one than he’s taken in the last couple days. But, yes, I think when you get to a general election and you’re going after not angry Republican based voters but going after voters in the middle, that it — this kind of thing does not resonate as — as presidential, as trustworthy as somebody you’re going to — you’re going to want to put in the White House to deal with all the issues that a president ends up dealing with.

WALLACE: How strong do you think Trump’s position is going into Super Tuesday? Three wins in a row, leading in the polls in nine of the 11 states that are up and could he effectively, not numerically but effectively wrap this up on Super Tuesday?

PAGE: I — I think he could if he — if he performs as strongly as he — as we think he might. Say he wins every place except Texas. Under — on what basis do you even get to a contested convention? And if he — if he comes in with — if he continues to win fair and square, Republican primaries and caucuses in states, you know, he signed that pledge to support the party’s nominee. So did everybody else. If he wins the nomination that way, it seems to me he’s going to be the nominee.

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