Trump, Sanders Trade Blame Over Disruption of Chicago Campaign Rally

Sunday March 13, 2016

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the downtown Midland Theater in Kansas City, Mo., March 12, 2016.

advertisements

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump blamed Democrat Bernie Sanders and his supporters for what he said was a planned disruption that forced him to cancel a Chicago rally Friday night.

Fights broke out among several Trump supporters and opponents before police cleared the crowd and made five arrests. Many of the protesters chanted "Bernie, Bernie" and waved Sanders signs.

Campaigning in Cleveland, Ohio Saturday, Trump mocked the socialist senator from Vermont as "our communist friend."

"Where do these people come from?" Trump asked. "They're Bernie's crowd. Hey, Bernie. Get your people in line, Bernie."

Sanders issued a statement Saturday denying his campaign organized the protests and blamed Trump's harsh rhetoric.

"What causes the violence at Trump's rally is a candidate that has promoted hatred and division against Latinos, Muslims, women and people with disabilities."

President speaks out

President Barack Obama, speaking at a fundraiser in Dallas, added to the criticism.

Obama said candidates running for office should be focused on making America "even better, not insults and schoolyard taunts and manufacturing facts, not divisiveness along the lines of race and faith, certainly not violence against other Americans."

Trump's Republican rivals for the presidential nomination also criticized him for conditions that incite some people to violence.

"Donald Trump has created a toxic environment," Ohio Governor John Kasich said Saturday in Cincinnati.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz said "when you have a campaign that affirmatively encourages violence, when you have a campaign that is facing allegations of physical violence against members of the press, you create an environment that only encourages this type of nasty discord."

Meanwhile, Cruz won Saturday's Republican primary in the western state of Wyoming, picking up nine delegates. Rubio and Trump each won one delegate.

Republicans in Washington, DC held a primary Saturday, with Rubio edging out Kasich. Trump came in third. Rubio earned 10 delegates and Kasich the other nine.

Organizers reported that thousands of Republicans turned out to vote, with some waiting in line as long as three hours.

Key elections on Tuesday

Five important states hold primaries Tuesday, including Florida and Ohio - winner-take-all states where the top finisher wins all the delegates instead of splitting them with the runners up. Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina also hold primaries.

Big wins by Trump Tuesday would give him a huge lead in the delegate count over Cruz and likely put the Republican nomination out of reach for Rubio and Kasich.

Polls show Trump in a close race with Kasich in Ohio, his home state. Rubio has taken the unusual step of encouraging his supporters in Ohio to vote Kasich to reduce the chances that Trump will win all of the state's delegates.

Trump has many supporters among white working-class voters, and his blunt rhetoric and slogan promising to "Make America Great Again" could attract workers anxious about stagnating wages and years of decline in industrial jobs in the so-called U.S. "Rust Belt."

For Democrats, Clinton is far out in front in the delegate count and Sanders is relying on big support by young voters to keep his candidacy strong.

Home
Email

Hiiraan Online