|
 Anointed the presumptive nominee after winning Indiana on Tuesday
and driving his closest rival, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, from the race,
the 69-year-old New York billionaire planned to set up a vice
presidential selection committee and step up efforts to seek unity
among a wider group of Republicans ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
Trump's win in Indiana cleared the way for him to prepare for a
likely general election match-up against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The former secretary of state lost the Indiana primary to tenacious
challenger U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, but remains on course to
become her party's nominee.
Trump told NBC News he would probably work with the Republican
National Committee to raise about $1 billion for the general
election campaign.
Kasich, the Ohio governor, had stayed in the race in hopes of
persuading Republicans to choose him as the nominee at a contested
convention in July. He ended his campaign as a clear path emerged
for Trump to amass the delegates needed to secure the nomination
outright.
 "As I suspend my campaign today, I have renewed faith, deeper faith
that the Lord will show me the way forward and fulfill the purpose
of my life," Kasich said in Columbus, the Ohio state capital.
Some Republican leaders said they would support Trump since he would
be the nominee, stressing the importance of defeating Clinton in the
general election. But there was no mad rush to support him as is
typically the case when a presumptive nominee is crowned.
Former President George W. Bush, whose brother Jeb was defeated by
Trump in the primary campaign, made clear he was staying out of the
race. "President Bush does not plan to participate in or comment on
the presidential campaign," said his spokesman, Freddy Ford.
A similar statement was issued by the spokesman for Bush's father,
former President George H.W. Bush. "At age 91, President Bush is
retired from politics,” spokesman Jim McGrath said.
John McCain, the 2008 Republican nominee, said he would support
Trump. McCain is a U.S. senator from Arizona who is seeking
re-election this year and was insulted by Trump last year.
"As John McCain has said, he will support the nominee of the
Republican Party, who is now presumptively Donald Trump," said
McCain's Senate campaign spokeswoman, Lorna Romero.
CAMPAIGN WOUNDS
But the wounds from a brutal primary battle were still raw among
many Republican loyalists who simply cannot bear to support Trump
because they worry he could spell disaster for the party in
November.
 Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska reiterated statements that
he would not back Trump and pointed to a February Facebook post in
which he said he would look for an alternative candidate if Trump
became the nominee.
Nebraska's other U.S. senator, Republican Deb Fischer, made clear in
an interview with Nebraska Radio Network that she would support the
party's nominee but was not comfortable with Trump.
"Mr. Trump is going to have to work hard to bring the party
together,” she said.
South Carolina's Republican governor, Nikki Haley, issued a
statement saying she would support the Republican nominee but was
"not interested" in being the party's vice presidential running
mate.
But Oklahoma Republican Governor Mary Fallin endorsed Trump
enthusiastically and welcomed talk of her as his possible No. 2.
[to top of second column] |
Since launching his White House bid last summer as a long shot amid
a crowded field that included governors, former governors and U.S.
senators, Trump repeatedly defied predictions that his campaign
would implode.
He prevailed over rivals he derided as "grown politicians," despite
making provocative statements along the way that drew sometimes
furious criticism from many in the party but fed his
anti-establishment appeal.
In a series of television interviews on Wednesday, Trump made clear
he would not be looking to placate everyone after a tumultuous
primary campaign in which many establishment Republicans rallied
around "Stop Trump" and "Never Trump" movements.
Party loyalists have been appalled by the bombastic, bullying style
of the former reality-television star, his denigrating comments
about women and his proposals to build a wall on the border with
Mexico and deport 11 million illegal immigrants.
"I am confident that I can unite much of it, some of it I don't
want," Trump said on NBC's "Today" show. "Honestly, there are some
people I really don't want. People will be voting for me. They're
not voting for the party."
The New York Times quoted Trump as saying he would soon form a team
to help him in the search for a vice presidential nominee to be
announced in July. He put retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson on the
committee. Carson, who like Trump has never held elective office or
served in government, endorsed Trump after pulling out of the
Republican presidential race earlier this year.
Trump, who has honed an 'outsider' image, suggested he might make a
more conventional choice as his running mate, telling the Times:
“I’m more inclined to go with a political person.”
He made a play for working-class Democrats and independents in a CNN
interview, saying he would be "open to doing something" on raising
the hourly minimum wage but that to increase it too much could hurt
companies' competitiveness.
Support for Trump among Republicans jumped nationally in recent
weeks to the highest level of the primary campaign, according to
Reuters/Ipsos polling. A recent poll found Trump with the support of
53 percent of Republican participants, well above Cruz at 25
percent.
In a potential general election contest, Clinton led Trump by about
10 percentage points among likely voters. The poll included 623
Democrats and 556 Republicans and had a credibility interval of 5
percentage points.
Clinton called Trump a "loose cannon" on Wednesday and said America
should not take a risk on an unreliable candidate.
(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell, Megan Casella, Susan
Heavey, Doina Chiacu and Emily Stephenson in Washington, Chris Kahn
in New York and Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif.; Writing by
Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland; Editing by Leslie Adler and Peter
Cooney)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
