Report: Black students removed from Donald Trump rally in South Georgia
Another day for GOP Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump brings another race-related scandal. This latest race-related incident involves 30 black students being kicked out of a Trump rally at Valdosta State University in South Georgia, according to multiple reports. Even though there were 7,500 at the rally, there wasn’t room for 30 black students, according to USA Today: About 30 black students who were standing silently at the top of the bleachers at Donald Trump’s rally here Monday night were escorted out by Secret Service agents who said the presidential candidate had requested their removal before he began speaking. The sight of the students, who were visibly upset, being led outside by law enforcement officials created a stir at a university that was a whites-only campus until 1963. “We didn’t plan to do anything,” said a tearful Tahjila Davis, a 19-year-old mass media major, who was among the Valdosta State University students who was removed. “They said, ‘This is Trump’s property; it’s a private event.’ But I paid my tuition to be here.” “We are going to win at every single level. We are going to win with health, with education, at the borders, with our military. We’re going to win, win, win, win,” he told the crowd. Trump, who has been under fire in recent days for a seeming inability or unwillingness to forthrightly repudiate the endorsement of David Duke, will undoubtedly face further scrutiny for his team’s latest questionable move.
Report: Paul Singer may join Marco Rubio campaign as national finance chair
Marco Rubio could be getting a little help from a billionaire backer. The New York Post on Monday reported Paul Singer could be tapped as the national finance chair of Rubio’s presidential bid. In October, Singer announced he planned to back Rubio in the 2016 presidential election. At the time, Singer told dozens of other donors that Rubio was the only candidate who can “navigate this complex primary process, and still be in the position to defeat” Hillary Clinton in the fall, according to a letter obtained by the New York Times. Singer has helped raise money for both Rubio’s official campaign and his super PAC. The New York Post reported that Singer has not been involved with the political operation since super PACs can’t coordinate with the campaign. The New York Post reported that a source close to Singer said his move to the campaign was “not accurate.”
Donald Trump at 49% nationwide among GOP voters in new CNN/ORC poll
A day before the biggest day of the 2016 presidential election cycle, Donald Trump‘s lead nationally in the GOP presidential race is at an all-time high. A CNN-ORC poll released on Monday has Trump at 49 percent support. Marco Rubio is a distant second with 16 percent. Ted Cruz is third with 15 percent. Ben Carson has 10 percent, and John Kasich is at 6 percent. Trump and Rubio both have seen their popularity rise 8 percentage points from a similar poll taken last month. The CNN/ORC poll from January had Trump at 41 percent, and Rubio at just 8 percent. Kasich was only at 1 percent in that survey. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton tops Bernie Sanders 55 percent to 38 percent in the new poll, a slightly wider margin than she held in late January before any primaries or caucuses were held. The CNN/ORC Poll was conducted by telephone Wednesday through Saturday among a random national sample of 1,001 adults. Results for the 418 registered voters who are Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. It is the same for results among the 427 Republican and Republican-leaning voters.
Marco Rubio tax returns show steady salary, boosted by book deals
Marco Rubio released summaries of his last five years of tax filings on Saturday, revealing him to be a candidate with a senator’s steady annual income of $176,000 who reaped repeated windfalls from book deals. During his first four years in the Senate, Rubio and his wife Jeanette together earned an average of $531,000 a year. Since winning election to an office in Washington, Rubio’s income has ranged from $276,059 to $938,963, and he has paid between $46,500 and $254,894 in federal income tax. Most of the income came from a business that collected royalties on two books, based on a comparison with personal Senate financial disclosures. In 2012, his most lucrative year, his effective tax rate topped out at a little more than 31 percent. The documents Rubio has released are not complete tax filings, as Mitt Romney provided in 2012 and Hillary Clinton produced last year. Instead, Rubio released the first two pages of his 1040 form, which summarizes the details of his income and taxes. Rubio’s release of his most recent tax returns comes after Republican front-runner Donald Trump said in Thursday’s GOP debate that his tax returns have been the subject of audits for at least a dozen consecutive years. He said he would not release them until that process concludes. “We’re putting these out today to put pressure on Trump and the other candidates to release theirs,” said Rubio campaign spokesman Alex Conant. “To the extent there are additional questions about Marco, we won’t rule out providing more information in the future.” The disclosure makes Rubio the only of the top three Republican candidates to fulfill pledges to disclose their tax information. Despite criticizing Trump during the debate for not disclosing his tax filings, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz did not meet a self-imposed deadline of Friday to release his tax returns for the years since he ran for Senate. Cruz campaign spokeswoman Catherine Frazier on Saturday did not offer a new timeline for releasing the records. “We are pulling them together,” she said. “They will be released. These things take time.” For Rubio, the records add to 10 years of previous tax returns he released when running for the Senate. Those returns show how the young lawmaker’s finances benefited from high-paying jobs at law firms as he rose in state and national politics. In 2000, Rubio and his wife reported a combined income of $82,710. The family’s income grew to more than $330,000 in 2005, the year he became speaker of the House in Florida, and by the time he left the statehouse in 2008, he reported nearly $400,000 in income. Between 2004 and 2008, Rubio gave nearly $50,000 to Christ Fellowship in Miami and more than $16,000 to First Baptist Church of Perrine, Florida, according to the documents released at the time. No such calculation of charitable contributions is possible for the years covered in Saturday’s release, however, because Rubio did not make public the part of his tax returns that itemizes deductions. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
“Crystal Ball” suggests Marco Rubio offer John Kasich VP spot in exchange for his backing
As Marco Rubio continues to gain steam in the race for the Republican nomination, a leading political expert is looking into his crystal ball to make a few predictions. Larry Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics and editor in chief of “Sabato’s Crystal Ball,” suggested Rubio “consider a daring gambit.” The bold move? Openly offering John Kasich “the vice presidential slot in exchange for Ohio governor’s support.” In the Saturday “Crystal Ball” piece, Sabato and his team said Ronald Reagan did something similar in his 1976 campaign. It was right before the Republican convention, and “while it didn’t work out it shook up conventional wisdom. It is a tactic worth considering.” The “Crystal Ball” story continues: “If Rubio can somehow push Kasich out after Bush’s exit, it seems reasonable to think that the lion’s share of their supporters would go to him, and in a three-way race, that could be enough for Rubio to start getting the victories he has failed to secure so far. However, Kasich seems inclined to continue to run, and the Republican power brokers who favor a Rubio-Kasich ticket probably won’t take the risks necessary to make this happen.” Kasich came in fifth in South Carolina on Saturday, with 7.6 percent support. Jeb Bush came in fourth with 7.8 percent of the vote. Bush announced Saturday he was bowing out of the race. Kasich is still plugging along, on Sunday telling John Dickerson on Face the Nation that his team is “going to go on March the 1st to a number of states where we think we’re going to do well.” “So it’s a matter of continuing on … and being able to take advantage of grassroots,” he said on the show. “We now have some Bush people who have come our way, both from a political point of view and a fundraising point of view and we’re going to keep struggling to make sure that we can be out there, keep putting the resources to be in a position of doing well.” Rubio came in second in South Carolina with 22.5 percent of the vote. He now heads to Nevada, where Republicans will caucus on Feb. 23. Recent polling averages show Rubio is battling it out with Ted Cruz for second in Nevada.
Donald Trump’s lead narrows; Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush battle for 3rd in South Carolina
With just one day before the South Carolina primary, Donald Trump’s lead in the Palmetto State is narrowing. Trump still leads the pack, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll of likely South Carolina Republican primary voters; however, Ted Cruz is now within 5 points of the New York businessman. Trump gets 28 support from likely GOP primary voters, followed by Cruz at 23 percent. Marco Rubio is at 15 percent, while Jeb Bush is at 13 percent. Rubio and Bush are in a statistical tie for third, according to the NBC/WSJ/Marist poll. John Kasich and Ben Carson are both polling at 9 percent. The new South Carolina poll might be an outlier, though. All other recent polls have Trump leading by a wide margin. An Emerson College Polling Society poll released this week found Trump was leading the field with 36 percent support. In that poll, Trump led his nearest competitor (Rubio at 19 percent) by 17 points. A Fox News poll released Thursday found Trump was at 32 percent and led his nearest competitor (Cruz at 19 percent) by 13 percent. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders, 60 percent to 32 percent. The NBC/WSJ/Marist poll was conducted from Monday through Wednesday. The poll surveyed 722 likely GOP primary voters and 425 Democratic voters. The GOP poll has a margin of error of 3.6 percent; while the Democratic survey has a margin of error of 4.8 percent. The South Carolina Republican primary is Saturday. Democrats head to the polls in the Palmetto State on Feb. 27.
Pope on Donald Trump: Anyone who wants border walls isn’t Christian
Asked about Donald Trump‘s views on immigration, Pope Francis said Thursday that anyone who wants to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border isn’t Christian. Trump, a leading U.S. Republican presidential candidate, has promised to build a wall along the Mexican border from Texas to California and expel 11 million people who are in the country illegally if elected president. The Pope’s comments en route home from Mexico came hours after he prayed at the Mexico-U.S. border for people who died trying to reach the United States. “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Francis said. “This is not in the Gospel.” Not having heard Trump’s border plans independently, Francis said he’d “give him the benefit of the doubt.” But he added: “I’d just say that this man is not Christian if he said it this way.” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, another Republican presidential contender, has also supported building a border wall, and joked that he will make Trump pay for it. Trump, a Presbyterian, last week criticized Francis’ plans to pray at the border. He said the move was ill-informed and showed Francis to be a political figure being exploited by the Mexican government. “I don’t think he understands the danger of the open border that we have with Mexico,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News. “I think Mexico got him to do it because they want to keep the border just the way it is. They’re making a fortune, and we’re losing.” Asked if he felt he was being used as a pawn of Mexico, Francis said he didn’t know. “I leave that judgment to you, the people.” But he seemed quite pleased to hear that Trump had called him a “political” figure, noting that Aristotle had described the human being as a “political animal.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
In new ad, Nikki Haley says Marco Rubio will “bring a conscience to Republicans in Washington”
Marco Rubio is the best candidate to “keep America safe.” That’s the message South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is hoping to send to voters in a new advertisement released by the Rubio campaign. The advertisement comes just one day after the popular South Carolina Republican endorsed Rubio. “America can’t afford four more years like the last eight. That’s why I’m endorsing Marco Rubio for president. As the wife of a combat veteran, I know Marco will keep America safe,” she is shown saying in the 30-second spot. “And as your governor, I trust Marco to bring a conscience to Republicans in Washington and reign in our out-of- control federal government.” Haley goes on to say she is backing Rubio because “this election is about the future and the future is now.” The endorsement is expected to be a boost in South Carolina for Rubio. He’s in a battle with Ted Cruz for second in the Palmetto State. The endorsement also could mean bad news for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — who is in fourth in South Carolina, according to RealClearPolitics polling averages — who had hoped to get Haley’s backing. Bush told NBC’s Peter Alexander earlier this week that her endorsement “would be the most powerful, meaningful one in the state.” Haley is scheduled to hit the campaign trail with Rubio on Friday. The two are expected to be joined by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, both South Carolina Republicans. The South Carolina primary is Saturday.
Jeb Bush tells NBC News he’s in race for “long haul”
Jeb Bush is in the race for “the long haul.” Or at least that’s what the former Florida governor told NBC News reporter Peter Alexander during an interview this week. Bush brushed off questions about whether South Carolina would be his campaign’s last stand, saying he is doing well in the Palmetto State. “The obituaries have been written probably once a week and, we’re in it for the long haul,” said Bush. “But we are going to do well here.” Bush said he thinks Donald Trump has hijacked the Republican Party. Bush said he thinks that support is temporary, and said Trump “is not going to win the presidency.” “This guy is not serious,” said Bush, according to a transcript of the interview. “In a serious dangerous time, we need a serious person with a steady hand to be president of the United States.” Bush has spent the past week in South Caroling trying to rally support. On Monday, former President George W. Bush campaigned for his brother in the Palmetto State; and Barbara Bush is expected to hit the trail with Jeb Bush this week. CNN reported that the former first lady is expected to arrive in South Carolina on Thursday and will stay through the primary. Bush is in fourth place in South Carolina, according to polling averages compiled by RealClearPolitics. Bush told NBC News that he planned to go on to Nevada if he places fourth in South Carolina. “This is a, this is a long haul process particularly you now the rules of the Republican Party set up this time,” he said. Watch Jeb Bush’s interview with NBC News’ Peter Alexander.
Barbara Bush to campaign with son in SC
Jeb Bush says that his mother, Barbara Bush, will campaign for him again in South Carolina with days to go until the state’s Republican primary. The former Florida governor said Tuesday that his mother, the former First Lady, would join him on the road as she did ahead of the New Hampshire primary. Campaign spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said Barbara Bush would come to South Carolina on Thursday and stay through Saturday when South Carolina votes for a Republican presidential nominee. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
In new ad Trey Gowdy says “no one is stronger” than Marco Rubio on national security
Marco Rubio is the best candidate to keep America safe. That’s the message U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy is sending in a new advertisement set to air in the Palmetto State. “I have spent my life fighting to enforce the rule of law and keep Americans safe. And no one is stronger for America’s security than Marco Rubio,” the South Carolina Republican is shown saying in the advertisement. “Marco Rubio will be a commander in chief who brings back American strength. I’m Trey Gowdy — that’s why I support Marco Rubio and that’s why the Democrats fear Marco the most.” The 30-second spot — called “Fear” — is expected to hit the airwaves South Carolina on Tuesday. According to a new Public Policy Polling survey, Rubio is currently tied for second in South Carolina. The Republican primary is Saturday.
Allies of Jeb Bush, John Kasich spar over military spending
John Kasich proudly cites his efforts while in Congress to cut what he believed was wasteful defense spending. But allies for Jeb Bush, a Republican presidential rival, see a potential vulnerability for Kasich in military-minded South Carolina and are trying to slow the Ohio governor’s momentum after a strong showing in New Hampshire. An outside group backing Bush has begun airing a television ad ahead of the Feb. 20 primary, using Kasich’s own words. It’s an effort to undermine Kasich in a state that’s home to Fort Jackson and Parris Island, massive training installations for the Army and Marine Corps, as well as a number of air bases and a naval training school for nuclear submarine officers. Kasich and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, winner of the state’s primary in 2012, are denouncing the broadside, but it’s clear that the rivalry between Kasich, the Ohio governor, and Bush, a former Florida governor, is intensifying. Bush’s team sees defense spending as a key area to draw distinctions. Right to Rise, the outside group backing Bush, launched the ad on Friday. It begins with a narrator saying “threats to America are growing,” over photographs of foreign leaders and the Islamic State group. It plays a clip of Kasich from his time in Congress saying he wants to turn the Pentagon into a “triangle,” adding “I spent a whole career trying to rein in defense spending.” Right to Rise also aired ads in New Hampshire hitting Kasich for backing a budget that led to the closure of an Air Force base in the state. Kasich finished second in the New Hampshire primary; Bush finished fourth. Kasich doesn’t shy away from his record, often bragging during campaign stops about his work to cut wasteful military spending during his 18 years on the House Armed Services and Budget Committees. “I was what they call a member of the ‘cheap hawk caucus,’” he said Thursday at a Pancake House in Pawleys Island. “In other words, we’re going to be as strong as we need to be, but we’re not going to waste money.” Kasich says his budget plan would increase military spending by $100 billion, focusing the money on the front lines while cutting bureaucratic jobs at the Pentagon. Gingrich, who served with Kasich in Congress but is not making an endorsement in the GOP primary, told The Associated Press that he was speaking out because he feels he has an “obligation to bear witness to the facts” and believes the ad distorts Kasich’s record. Bush hasn’t attacked Kasich directly on military spending while campaigning in South Carolina. At a stop in Fountain Inn on Saturday morning, Bush only mentioned Kasich to criticize Medicaid expansion in Ohio. Right to Rise, meanwhile, is standing by the ad. “John Kasich’s long history of cutting critical national defense projects is well-documented, from both his record and his own mouth,” spokesman Paul Lindsay said. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
