Washington: Buoyed by his impressive wins in ‘Super Tuesday’ primaries, a confidant Donald Trump today said he is a “unifier” and can expand the Republican party if named presidential nominee as the frontrunner tried to make peace with party insiders deeply opposed to his candidature.
Trump, a reality TV show host who began the campaign seen by many as something of a joke, after his big wins wondered whether he can be denied Republican nomination.
“How one can do this to someone who is winning elections?”
“If I’m going to win all of these states with tremendous numbers, and if I’m going to come in the worst is second in the two or three that I might not win, we’re a democracy. I think it’s awfully hard to say that’s not the person we want to lead the party, right? It is very hard,” Trump said.
The reaction came in response to a question over some in the party who may not be excited for his nomination, that they fear Trump’s decisive politics including against Muslims and African-Americans would alienate the communities from the party.
Representative Scott Rigell of Virginia has appealed to fellow Republicans in the state to reject Trump, calling him “a bully unworthy of our nomination.”
Trump, 69, won Republican primaries and caucuses in seven states – Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont and Virgnia. He was leading in Alaska Caucus.
With his three previous victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, Trump has won 10 states as against just three by Senator Ted Cruz in Texas, Oklahoma and Iowa and the only victory by Senator Marco Rubio in Minnesota.
The roller-coaster victories coupled with lead in national polls have unnerved the Republican establishment. There were reports that the party’s establishment was trying to gang-up against him.
Trump strongly denies that, saying he made the Republican party dynamic and diverse and that now Democrats and Independents were joining the party. He said he was a unifier.
“I am a unifier. I would love to see the Republican party and everybody get together and unify. And there is no one who is going to beat us,” Trump said.
“We have a very, very dynamic party and I think we’re going to be able to unify the party,” he said.
“I know people are going to find that a little bit hard to believe, but believe me, I am a unifier,” he said and tried to assure the party he would be the best one to defeat Democratic party’s likely presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, 68.
“Once we get all of this finished, I’m going to go after one person, that’s Hillary Clinton, on the assumption she’s allowed to run, which is a big assumption. I don’t know that she’s going to be allowed to run,” Trump said.
He claimed it would be an easy run for him if Clinton runs.
“You see the polls. I beat Hillary in many polls. I know one thing. I don’t think Marco is going to be able to beat her. I don’t in all fairness, I think Ted’s going to have a very hard time. But Ted at least has a shot because at least he’s won a little bit,” he said.
PTI
