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Trump Breaks Out the Red Meat and Wine

Posted March 9th, 2016 at 1:42 pm (UTC-4)
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A chef with the Trump National Golf Club arranges Trump steaks for a display prior to a scheduled news conference by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, March 8, 2016, in Jupiter, Florida.

A chef with the Trump National Golf Club arranges Trump steaks for a display prior to a scheduled news conference by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, March 8, 2016, in Jupiter, Florida.

Donald Trump celebrated his three state victory Tuesday with a smorgasbord of Trump-branded steaks, wine and water for the assembled at his post-primary press conference. Contrast that to Bernie Sanders, who talked to reporters in a dimly-lit room in front of hastily stapled-together campaign posters following his biggest victory of the campaign.

Sanders defied the pundits and exceeded expectations by narrowly beating Hillary Clinton in Michigan, where his anti-free trade mantra resonated in a state hit hard by job losses in the manufacturing sector. However, because Clinton beat Sanders so handily in the Mississippi primary, she finished the evening with more delegates, strengthening her position as presumptive nominee.

Trump was a clearer winner, picking up 60% of the delegates at stake in the four contests Tuesday. Trump won Mississippi, Michigan, and Hawaii while Ted Cruz won Idaho. Victories in next Tuesday’s primaries in Ohio, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and Missouri will put Trump on track to clinch the nomination.

Why Bernie Sanders’ Win in Michigan Matters So Much

Chris Cilizza – The Washington Post

Given Sanders’s remarkable comeback in Michigan — most polling had him losing by more than 20 points — there are a handful of large, industrial states, many clumped in the Midwest, where Sanders now has to be considered viable, assuming he continues to ride the trade message that catapulted him to the top in the Wolverine State….

Putting aside the more technical aspects of what Sanders’s victory means, there’s also this: Winning Michigan makes it that much harder for the Clinton people to dismiss him as either a regional candidate or someone who can win only small, not very Democratic states that hold caucuses.

Although Sanders’s win virtually ensures that this race goes through April — Pennsylvania’s primary isn’t until the end of that month — and maybe all the way through when California votes June 7, it still doesn’t change the underlying delegate math of the contest. And, there, Clinton retains a considerable edge.

Only Trump Can Trump Trump

Thomas Freidman – The New York Times

Donald Trump is a walking political science course. His meteoric rise is lesson No. 1 on leadership: Most voters do not listen through their ears. They listen through their stomachs. If a leader can connect with them on a gut level, their response is: “Don’t bother me with the details. I trust your instincts.” If a leader can’t connect on a gut level, he or she can’t show them enough particulars. They’ll just keep asking, “Can you show me the details one more time?”…

Many have come to Trump out of a gut feeling that this is a guy who knows their pain, even if he really doesn’t….

The cynicism of today’s G.O.P. could not have been more vividly displayed than when Marco Rubio, John Kasich (a decent guy) and Ted Cruz all declared that they would support the party’s nominee, even if it was Trump, right after telling voters he was a con man. No wonder so many Republicans are voting for Trump on the basis of what they think is in his guts. All the other G.O.P. candidates have none.

Three Clear Messages from Tuesday’s Primaries

Charles Lipson – Real Clear Politics

Marco Rubio is toast. That’s true even if he wins Florida….John Kasich has no path to the nomination, even if he wins Ohio. His only path was a deadlocked convention, and that won’t happen unless Trump falls down a manhole….Ted Cruz is still standing but he has a hidden weakness. And it’s devastating….

As Hillary trudges forward, her party ought to worry about two things. First, she has been unable to put away a 74-year-old socialist from a small state with zero legislative accomplishments…. Second, she has more legal troubles than Perry Mason could handle….

The electorate is furious…with Washington, Wall Street, hedge funds, big banks, lobbyists, fat cats in corner offices…

 

 

 

 

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