Donald Trump won pivotal primaries Tuesday in Michigan and Mississippi, news networks projected, putting more pressure on rivals who are trying to stop his drive for the Republican presidential nomination.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich appeared headed for a relatively close second behind Trump in Michigan, the biggest prize of the night, while Ted Cruz ran a distant second to the New York billionaire in Mississippi.
Kasich, Cruz, and Marco Rubio — fighting one another as well as Trump — are all also looking to pick up delegates via a primary in Idaho and caucuses in Hawaii.
“We’re doing very well,” Trump predicted on ABC’s Good Morning America, saying the Republican establishment was “spending tens of millions of dollars on fighting me. … They would rather not see me in there, obviously.”
Rubio, speaking to supporters in Florida before any results were announced, vowed to press on despite expected low finishes on Tuesday; the Florida senator faces a must-win next week in his home state primary.
Trump also dealt Tuesday with new questions about the now-defunct Trump University and his recent habit of asking supporters to raise their hand and pledge their votes to him — gestures that some critics have likened to Nazi or fascist salutes.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Trump told NBC’s Today show, saying people are just having a good time. “I think that’s a big, big stretch.”
Additionally, the Better Business Bureau issued a statement disputing many of the New York billionaire’s claims about a former business venture known as Trump University, currently the subject of fraud lawsuits.
“During the period when Trump University appeared to be active in the marketplace, BBB received multiple customer complaints about this business,” the bureau said.
Complaints are automatically rolled off after three years, meaning that, over time as the school gradually ceased activity, Trump University’s rating rose from a D-minus to an A-plus — the rating Trump has repeatedly cited during discussions of the episode.
The GOP front-runner also picked up a prominent endorsement ahead of Tuesday’s primary: former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.
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SOURCE: USA Today
David Jackson
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