Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump struck a general election tone after his sweeping wins on Super Tuesday, by taking shots at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, dismissing Sen. Marco Rubio after failing to pick up a state and already promising to unify the party in time for November.
“I am a unifier,” Trump said in a victory speech in Florida. “I would love to see the Republican Party and everybody get together and unify. And when we unify, there’s nobody, nobody, that’s going to beat us.”
By late Tuesday evening, Trump had won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennesee and Virginia, and more wins were expected later. With those results, Trump started setting his sights on Clinton, the Democrat who now seems certain to win the nomination after her victories Tuesday night.
“[Hillary’s] been there for so long. I mean, if she hasn’t straightened it out by now, she’s not going to straighten it out in the next four years,” Trump said. “It’s just going to become worse and worse. She wants to make America whole again, and I’m trying to figure out what is that all about? Make America great again is going to be much better than making American whole again.”
Trump offered a hint of optimism in possibly working with Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, even though both GOP leaders were warning that not everything Trump says can be supported by the party members already in Washington. They took particular exception to Trump’s refusal to immediately disavow an endorsement from former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke.
Trump could not help but take shots at Sen. Marco Rubio while on his opponent’s home turf, saying that Tuesday was a “very tough night” for Florida’s “little senator.” He said that he expects a wave of opposition coming from Rubio’s direction as he looks to finally get on the board and win in Florida on March 15.
“I know it was a very tough night for Marco Rubio. He had a tough night. He worked hard, he spent a lot of money,” he said. “He is a lightweight as I’ve said many times before. We’re going to go to Florida, we’re going to spend so much time in Florida.
“I know that a lot of groups, a lot of the special interests and the lobbyists and people that want to have their little senator do exactly as they want,” Trump said, adding that he expects $20 million to go into his coffers. “If he wins, they’ll have totally control, total control, but he’s not going anywhere anyway.”
But a broad, optimistic message seemed to emerge in Trump’s speech, a sign he is beginning to see himself as the GOP nominee.
“I feel awfully good,” Trump said with a grin when asked if he felt like the likely nominee.
