Recounts in 15 states and one U.S. territory weren’t even over Tuesday night, but the message was clear: The rematch between Trump and Biden is already underway.
Donald Trump, 77, and Joe Biden, 81, took shots at each other as Super Tuesday came to a close. They barely stopped to count their victories before taking aim.
“November 5th will go down in history as the most important day in the history of our country,” Trump said in the glittering ballroom of his Mar-a-Lago club.
Biden presented an equally tough choice.
‘Tonight’s results leave the American people with a clear choice: Will we keep moving forward or will we allow Donald Trump to drag us back into the chaos, division and darkness that defined his presidency?’ he said.
“November 5th will go down in history as the most important day in the history of our country,” Donald Trump said in the glittering ballroom of his Mar-a-Lago.
Joe Biden said: ‘Tonight’s results leave the American people with a clear choice: Will we continue to move forward or will we allow Donald Trump to drag us back into the chaos, division and darkness that defined his presidency?’
He spoke his words softly in a written statement emailed by his campaign.
Trump delivered his in a largely improvised speech in front of hundreds of raucous supporters who interrupted him at times with chants of “USA, USA, USA” as his family looked on, though without former first lady Melania.
However, this was far from the Trump personality that can keep a crowd energized for 90 minutes or more.
He spoke for 18 minutes in a sometimes subdued tone, as if the intense pace of juggling four criminal court cases, civil lawsuits and a nationwide election campaign had caught up with him.
Meanwhile, Biden didn’t even bother to make an appearance in the evening. Instead, he spent the day quietly preparing for Thursday’s State of the Union address, which suggested two battle-weary veterans were preparing for another round.
Both achieved victory in state-level nominating contests across the country.
Trump won Republican votes in a dozen states, putting his last remaining rival, Nikki Haley, to the sword. She managed to eke out a victory in Vermont, which may offer her enough hope to continue a campaign she can’t win, but casts her as a spokesperson for Trump-weary Republicans.
Biden was on track to win 15 states, but also suffered a surprise defeat in the territory of American Samoa.
That left two candidates determined only to put the nomination races behind them.
Trump delivered his speech in the golden splendor of Mar-a-Lago’s Great Hall
Biden delivered his statement in the form of a campaign email.
Donald Trump Jr. was in the audience to hear his father speak on Super Tuesday
Mar-a-Lago was filled with fans and followers for the viewing party and speech.
Trump and Biden had a good night but each suffered a surprise defeat
Trump focused on Biden in his speech, refusing to even mention Haley. He called Biden the “worst president ever” and took special aim at his border policies.
“It’s sad to see what’s happening in our cities,” he said. “Our cities are being invaded by immigration crime, and that is Biden’s immigration crime.”
And he claimed that the nation’s standing in the world had fallen under his successor.
So while Trump argued that three-odd years of Biden had ruined the nation, Biden warned of what Trump would undo if he were allowed to return to power.
‘If Donald Trump returns to the White House, all this progress will be at risk. “He is driven by grievance and pain, focused on his own revenge and retribution, not the American people,” Biden said.
“He is determined to destroy our democracy, rip away fundamental freedoms like women’s ability to make their own health care decisions and pass another round of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the rich, and he will do or say anything thing to get into power.
Trump was watched by family members. From left to right: Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr. Tiffany Trump is on the far right but there was no sign of Melania.
Hundreds of glamorous young men and women arrived to see the results and celebrate the former president’s expected rush of delegates.
Trump supporters put on a show of force at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday night as they waited for the former president to deliver a speech Tuesday night.
Both laid out what they consider to be a lot at stake.
However, a rematch in 2020 (the first repeat since 1956) does not excite voters. Both candidates have historically low approval ratings in opinion polls.
The winner could be determined by what pollster James Johnson called the “double disapprovers”: voters who want a different option. How many stay home or who they dislike the least could decide the outcome in key states like Georgia, Arizona or Wisconsin.
However, Trump supporters insist there is one issue that can break the impasse.
Tuesday’s results and Trump’s string of victories show that immigration arguments can prevail, according to Rep. Byron Donalds.
‘W“Whether you are a Republican voter, an independent voter or a Democratic voter, securing our border is the number one issue in our country,” he said.
“And you can talk to people from New York, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Colorado, etc., and they all see the same thing.”