Welcome to Breitbart News’s daily live updates of the 2016 horse race.

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11:00 Trump speaks glowingly about his five children. He says he was a great parent because he put his children above everything. Trump says his brother’s alcoholism taught him a tremendous reason and his brother is why he has never had alcohol and smoked cigarettes. He says he has seen what alcohol does to people and says “if you don’t drink, there is no temptation.” He says he always told his children “no drugs, no alcohol, no cigarettes.”

[Strong answer by Trump–and a story he should tell more often]

Trump says maybe he works too hard with his businesses and his jobs probably came before his first two wives. He says he was a better father than husband. He is proud of the thousands of employees that have succeeded under him.

10:58: Trump says he watches a lot of television news (say what you want about Trump, but keeping up with the daily news cycle probably has made him a better candidate than candidates who are put in a bubble by their advisers) and gets about four hours of sleep a night.

Trump on Arnold: “He’s no Trump.” [Tony Lee: Conservatives hoping Trump is “no Arnold”]

10:56: Trump says he sometimes bring fast food on his plane. Says he like Big Macs and Fish delights (Tony Lee: fish filets?). He says he had Kentucky Fried Chicken (Tony Lee: Their pot pies are great) the other night and likes Burger King. Trump says sometimes fast food restaurants may be safer than some places where you don’t know where the food is coming from. He likes Elton John, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Michael Jackson (Trump says he lost his confidence because of bad surgeries).

10:53: Trump says he doesn’t even know what his sister’s views on abortion are and says there are times when he doesn’t like the publicity he gets. He says the political press are “so dishonest” and says his sister is “not radical anything” and “is a great intellect” and a “great judge.” But Trump says he would not appoint his sister to the Supreme Court because it is a conflict of interest and Cooper points out that he has never said he would appoint his sister to the Court.

10:52: A South Carolina GOP activist asks Trump about police-involved shootings/racial tensions. He wants to know what his administration would do to make sure that law enforcement officers have the type of support they need. Trump says he is a “big, big supporter of the police.” He says the police are being treated horribly in this country and is “without question a huge supporter of the police” even though there may be a few bad apples. Trump says the police are “mistreated” and “misunderstood” and they deserve much more credit than they are getting now.

10:50: Trump says his greatest fault is putting up with people/deception for too long. But he says when he gets to it, he is too tough and he never forgets. One of the first times Trump has opened up a bit this election cycle. Very relatable answer.

10:48: After a lengthy commercial break that allows CNN to pay its bills, Cooper asks Trump about his comments on the Howard Stern show about being in favor of invading Iraq. Trump said he was against the War right before/shortly after it started.

10:42: A small business owner asks Trump what type of people he would consider for his cabinet. Trump says he wants the most talented people, regardless of party affiliation.

10:37: Questioner asks Trump about his comments about how George W. Bush lied to get us in the Iraq War. Trump says a lot of people agree with what he says about how Saddam Hussein was not responsible for 9/11. He says going into Iraq was the worst decision made by a president perhaps in the history of the United States. Trump says he is the one who didn’t want to go to War with Iraq, so it is not fair raise questions about his having his finger on the nuclear button. Trump says Bush went into Iraq because he was loyal to his father and “destroyed” the Middle East. Trump says Obama got us out the wrong way as well.

10:31: Trump says the Republicans have been so weak on Obamacare, Omnibus budgets that allow him to bring in people from Syria and give illegal immigrants temporary amnesty. He says we have to repeal and repeal Obamacare. Trump talks up healthcare saving accounts. He stresses that he is self-funding his campaign and is not beholden to various interests like Jeb!

Trump says insurance companies are funding most of the people he is running against and the insurance companies have too many Senators under control. Trump says he doesn’t want people dying on the streets, though, and he says he gets a standing ovation whenever he says that and is not single-payer. He says it’s called “heart.”

[It’s interesting that after letting most of the candidates, especially Rubio, just talk endlessly and repeat their talking points, Cooper is grilling Trump about various details. He hasn’t done that with the other candidates.]

10:26: Questioner asks Trump how he will get buy-in from people he disagrees with without being angry. Trump appreciates the question and says “you have to be tough” in the debates and “we have to be tough to protect our country.” He says he has a great temperament and you can’t build a great company without one. Trump says we need a certain toughness because ISIS is chopping off the heads of Christians and drowning people in cages. Trump says if we don’t have the toughness, we’re not going to have a country anymore. Trump says “we have weak people leading out toughness.” As President, Trump says he would win with his compromises. He says the country is not based on executive orders.

10:24: Trump says he is not a “bully.” He says he will send cease-and-desist letters to China and Mexico to stop ripping us off. He says “our country is going to hell” and we have a problem with China, Mexico, Japan. He says he won’t buy Carrier air conditioners because they moved to Mexico.

10:23: Trump says questions about Cruz’s natural-born citizen status will be a big problem for the GOP.

10:20: Re: his cease-and-desist letter to Cruz, Trump says Cruz has a “problem with the truth.” He jokes that Cruz’s photoshopped photo of Rubio probably bothered Rubio because the photoshopped image was much shorter than Rubio.

10:18: Trump says he never thought he would have to ask for forgiveness today. He says the Pope is “doing a good job” and has “a lot of energy.” He says the Pope was given “false information.” He says he’d meet the Pope any time and he has “great respect” for the position.

10:16: Re: Francis “not Christian” remarks, Trump says it wasn’t a good thing for the Pope to say and discusses America’s trade imbalance with Mexico. He accuses the Mexican government of influencing the Pope and says it may be a little bit of a nicer statement than was reported. Trump says he will build a wall and Mexico will pay for it.

“He’s got an awfully big wall at the Vatican,” Trump says re: Pope Francis’s “not Christian” remarks.

Trump says he doesn’t like fighting with the Pope and says he doesn’t think this is a fight. He says Pope Francis only heard the Mexican government’s side of the story and knows nothing of the tremendous strain illegal immigration puts on America. He talks about the heroin epidemic.

10:15: “The Pope is a wonderful guy,” Trump says after Cooper quips that Trump’s had quite a day.

10:11: Trump, the main event, is up next.

10:10: Cruz campaign slams Rubio for bailing on the Conservative Review Summit:

“This is a final admission that Marco Rubio isn’t even going to try to compete for the votes of conservatives in South Carolina or anywhere else,” said Rick Tyler, Cruz Communications Director. “And who can blame him? Rubio isn’t a conservative. Instead Rubio and his campaign would rather hide behind their deceptive campaign tactics and liberal record on amnesty for illegals and voting to nominate John Kerry.”

10:07: Bush listens to country music. Bush says his communications director Tim Miller thinks he’s crazy for actually liking his campaign music. Bush says his brother has gotten pretty good at painting and he likes to do “Sunday Sunday” with his granddaughters to relax. He likes making guacamole, reading, and playing speed golf. He says he just finished a book about his dad. Bush complains that people in his generation need to “emote” like Bill Clinton. Bush says he’s an introvert and introverts set goals and grind, which is pretty good if you have been written off over and over again. He says he has overcome his intmrovertdness. He says introverts like to listen/learn and not talk/being a “big blowhard.”

10:05: Bush says we need to create a “culture of savings” and not a “culture of debt.” Bush says we need to grow the economy at 2%, career civil service reform, entitlement reform, shift much more responsibility to the states.

Bush says people should go to his site to see his plans if they want a policy Wonk-a-thon.

9:58: Questioner asks Bush about his marriage and how it impacts his leadership. Bush tells his wife that his answer will be her “anniversary present.” Bush mentions that he met his wife in Mexico and he can remember exactly where he was then and exactly what she looked like to this day. “Lightning bolt of love.” Bush says his wife was the most beautiful girl he had ever met and decided he was going to marry her right then. Bush says his wife is his inspiration and his life can be divided BC/AC (Before Columba/After Columba). Bush says they mostly speak Spanish at home and it’s an advantage in life to have a bicultural relationship that adds a lot of vitality to his life.

9:53: Student asks Bush about marijuana/recreational drug use. Bush say the terminology (“recreational”) is misleading because of the potency of some type of marijuana. He says alcohol/drug abuse crosses racial/ethnic lines and speaks about his daughter who had struggled with addiction. Bush favors a “bottom up” approach and says we should have a “moonshot” to “discover the brain, its complexities.” He says we need to look at our criminal justice system–50% of the prisoners in federal prison are there because of a drug-related offense.

9:47: Questioner is “darn mad” Obama is dropping the ball in defeating ISIS in Iraq. He asks if Bush would send in ground troops to defeat ISIS. Bush says we already have ground troops but they are not embedded with the Iraqi Army. He says this is a “tragedy of our own making” and the Obama administration created the vacuum that ISIS filled with its failed Iraq policies. Bush says going forward, we should embed our existing troops that are already there inside the Iraqi military to give them the training, backbone. He says we need to reestablish the partnership with the Sunni tribal leaders that helped his brother with the surge. He says we also need to arm the Kurds with more sophisticated weapons and get the lawyers off the back of the war fighters. He wants safe-zones and n0-fly zones in Syria as well.

9:45: Jeb says he doesn’t know who he would nominate to the Supreme Court but wants to avoid making the mistake his father made with Souter. Jeb says “Justice Scalia” was the greatest lover of liberty and he is excited about this being an important election issues.

9:42: For the second time, Jeb! says “Anton Scalia.” His family is more familiar with the Souters of the world.

9:40: Jeb says being Catholic has a lot to do with his pro-life views. Says we should not take faith out of the public square.

9:34: Jeb is asked about his gun Tweet. He says he received that gun as a gift from a gun manufacturer in South Carolina who sells a lot of guns to the military. He blasts the sequester and the gutting of the military. He says he wanted to pay tribute to them and support the 2nd Amendment. Jeb! would change Obama’s executive actions on gun control.

9:33: Jeb Pope Francis is an inspirational leader but says it is not appropriate to question Trump’s faith.

9:32: Jeb! is now on stage at CNN’s town hall. Trump is on deck. Cooper likes Jeb!’s boots. He says it’s a blast campaigning with his brother and says his mom is a “superstar” whom he loves dearly.

9:25: Kasich says he was afraid that his parents would not come home at night when he was little because his dad picked his mom up on a dangerous road. He points out that he lost his parents as they were on their way from Burger King after getting free cups of coffee when they were struck by a drunk driver. He says he found the Lord after his parents died.

9:24: In Vegas, Sanders points out that Gloria Steinem once made him an “honorary woman.”

9:20: In Vegas, Sanders talks about the high youth unemployment rates among blacks/Hispanics without talking about illegal immigration. Sanders also says he hopes that minorities are disgusted when they turn on televisions and see unarmed men, mostly African-American, being shot. Earlier he dodged a question about having supported a primary challenger to Obama:

Sanders dodges an answer on whether he still thinks Obama should have been primaried, says this whole thing is a "media issue" — Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) February 19, 2016

9:18: A gun store owner mentions that firearm sales have skyrocketed the last seven years. He says his customers think their 2nd Amendment rights are being infringed. He asks if he believes that the 2nd Amendment is an individual right? Kasich says people have a right to own guns and “we don’t want to be messing around with the 2nd Amendment.” He blasts Obama’s executive actions on gun control. Kasich says he will call the kids of every member of Congress on their birthdays. He says his opinionated mother got him interested in politics.

9:12: In Vegas, Sanders says he voted against the Bush-Kennedy amnesty bill in agreement with LULAC/AFL-CIO because he was against the guest-worker provision that those organizations said was “akin to slavery.” Sanders says his immigration policy is to “unite” and not “divide” families.

“I don’t want to see workers in this country exploited,” he says, adding that he wants to take all of the illegal immigrants in the country out of the shadows and give them a path to citizenship.

9:05: When asked if he regrets taking Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, Kasich says the working-poor, drug addicted, and the mentally ill have benefited.

9:02: Michigan State fan in South Carolina tells Kasich that Obamacare has been a “godsend” for him. He wants to know what Kasich would substitute for Obamacare if he is elected. He says Obamacare doesn’t control the costs that are just escalating. Kasich says health insurance costs in his state have gone up by 80% and points out that Obamacare hurts small businesses. He says he would take some federal resources and combine it with Medicare to cover the working poor. Kasich says it is un-Ameriacn for people to lose insurance plans because of pre-existing conditions. He wants to incentivize doctors/hospitals for giving high-quality care at low prices.

9:00: Kasich is asked about Supreme Court Justices. He says he has appointed over 100 judges in Ohio and he tries to look for someone who is a conservative who interprets and doesn’t make law. A nominee’s temperament is also important. They also have to be beyond reproach. Justices need to be public officials and not preachers, he says.

8:57: Kasich says he will use the bully pulpit to wage an “all-out war” against domestic violence.

8:52: Kasich is asked about the working poor. He says we need to make sure they have health care and it all comes down to “training and skills.” Kasich says we have to have “lifelong learning” and keep training ourselves for today’s and tomorrow’s jobs. He refers to single moms with children as “heroes.”

8:50: Kasich says we have a right to build walls but we need more bridges.

8:48: Kasich says he is “pro-Pope” (some people on Twitter may think he means Olivia) when asked about the spat between Trump/Pope Francis. He praises Pope Francis for opening the doors of the Church.

8:43: Cooper asks Kasich about his emotional embrace with a supporter earlier in the day who has overcome a lot in life. Cooper calls it an “extraordinary moment” and Kasich says it has been happening to him at various campaign events. He says “we all need to slow down a little bit” because there are a lot of people who are lonely and looking to tell people about their issues. He says the country works best when it is strong from the “bottom up.”

8:41: Cooper says the town hall will be “conversational” and not “confrontational.” It looks like CNN has the same type of consultants who poll-test responses for Rubio.

8:40: CNN’s town hall event with Messrs. Kasich, Bush, and Trump is about to start. Seems like Kasich held up the event by arriving a bit late.

7:52: Hillary: ‘I’ve Always Tried to’ Tell the Truth. She doesn’t believe she has ever lied. If you say so…

PELLEY:You talk about leveling with the American people. Have you always told the truth? CLINTON:I’ve always tried to. Always. Always. PELLEY:Some people are gonna call that wiggle room that you just gave yourself. CLINTON:Well, no, I’ve always tried — PELLEY:I mean, Jimmy Carter said, “I will never lie to you.” CLINTON:Well, but, you know, you’re asking me to say, “Have I ever?” I don’t believe I ever have. I don’t believe I ever have. I don’t believe I ever will. I’m gonna do the best I can to level with the American people.

7:50: Wintour for Hillary as well:

Anna Wintour in a sequin Hillary 2016 tee at @Marcjacobs #NYFW pic.twitter.com/Q2Ag6j46al — Vanessa Friedman (@VVFriedman) February 18, 2016

7:42: Stump for Trump sisters want the Pope to tear down the Vatican’s wall and house illegal immigrants and let illegal immigrants bring drugs into the Vatican:

7:30: Sanders responds to Killer Mike’s “uterus” comments:

New: Bernie Sanders on Killer Mike "uterus" remark – pic.twitter.com/K0sRLHqvpw — Kasie Hunt (@kasie) February 19, 2016

7:16: Joe Biden tells Rachel Maddow that it is “very possible” that Trump can be nominated. “I would take him seriously in terms of being able to win.”

7:15: Ted Kennedy’s widow for Hillary.

7:12: Coulter goes off on Rubio again, calls him a “Manchurian candidate”

Rubio is the Manchurian Candidate, except Manchuria is the Vatican. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 18, 2016

7:10: Cruz Not Attending Scalia’s funeral:

Cruz said this today about Obama not attending Scalia's funeral on Saturday, calling him "faithless" –> pic.twitter.com/tCGXpsEmjR — Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) February 18, 2016

But the Cruz campaign says tonight Cruz will also not attend the funeral — instead, Cruz will stay in South Carolina for the primary. — Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) February 18, 2016

7:07: If Hillary attacks Sanders on having not voted for the Bush-Kennedy amnesty bill, it looks like he will bring up that Clinton wanted to send illegal immigrants from Central America back during the border surge, based on Tad Devine’s (Sanders Senior Strategist) interview with Chris Matthews.

7:05: Team Hillary testing attack lines?

Days before Democratic voters will caucus in Nevada, the race in the state between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton is tighter than ever. A new CNN poll out Wednesday showed the two candidates in a virtual dead heat in the state and staff from the Sanders campaign confirmed to ABC News that they have conducted their own polling in the state and are optimistic about what they see. As the pressure builds ahead of the next contest in the primary fight, ABC News recently obtained an audio recording of what sounds like intensive message polling conducted on Clinton’s behalf to a caller in the northern part of the state. In the recording, provided to ABC News by the Sanders campaign, a woman’s voice asks a man on the other end for, among other things, his impression of both talking points that are favorable to Clinton as well as a series of attack lines against the Vermont senator. The Sanders campaign said the recording and that type of polling are evidence that the Clinton campaign is nervous about a state they once thought they had locked up.

6:55: Lena Dunham thinks Caucuses are sexy. What about lying about having been “raped” by a Republican?

6:49: Sanders Tops Hillary in National Poll for First Time:

Bernie Sanders has passed Hillary Clinton at the top of a Democratic national poll for the first time in the entire 2016 race. A Fox News poll released Thursday shows Sanders with 47 percent support to Clinton’s 44 percent.

6:48: Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) Getting Ready to Endorse Hillary:

SCOOP! Sources: Rep. Jim Clyburn of S.C. plans to endorse Hillary Clinton as early as Fri.: https://t.co/L8ewjBVQZg pic.twitter.com/FLsnqffCAj — Darren Sands (@darrensands) February 18, 2016

6:45: Fox News reports on top Cruz aide, who used to work for David Dewhurst’s campaign:

Not his first rodeo! Cruz campaign manager accused of pushing drop-out rumors in 2010 race https://t.co/fS6x1oTHef pic.twitter.com/rpJxC7jC2W — FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) February 18, 2016

6:43: Kasich launches two new ads in Nevada:

6:40 Interesting Tweet on “endorsement points.” Endorsement points only work when the field consists of traditional candidates who can’t cut through the media/establishment’s filters. Trump breaks the mold in more ways than one so the traditional rules don’t matter as much

Endorsement points since Iowa:

Rubio 47

Cruz 3

Carson 1 (!)

Bush 0

Kasich 0

Trump 0https://t.co/cOwxHWW8gs — Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) February 18, 2016

[Tony Lee: Will say it again: Jeb!’s biggest mistake may have been going on the Paleo diet. It made him look too “low energy.” A robust Jeb! seems to be more energetic.]

6:35: Jeb! updates:

Yeah he's killing it at this town hall. He might beat Rubio again here like he did in NH. https://t.co/E7YHLq8Rs3 — Matthew Boyle (@mboyle1) February 18, 2016

Lots of conservatives I speak to way more open to @JebBush than @marcorubio too. Honesty being the key factor. — Matthew Boyle (@mboyle1) February 18, 2016

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Jeb wraps up: "I hope you think it’s possible for us to do this. I hope you don’t think the end is near." — Ashley Parker (@AshleyRParker) February 18, 2016

Unlike @marcorubio, @JebBush now actually taking questions at his town hall. — Matthew Boyle (@mboyle1) February 18, 2016

6:30: Charles Koch claims he agrees with Sanders on a “rigged” political/economic system and criminal justice reform. No mention of amnesty/open borders that is the issue that represents the greatest divide between Main Street and mega-donors on the left (like Soros) and on the right (like the Kochs):

The senator is upset with a political and economic system that is often rigged to help the privileged few at the expense of everyone else, particularly the least advantaged. He believes that we have a two-tiered society that increasingly dooms millions of our fellow citizens to lives of poverty and hopelessness. He thinks many corporations seek and benefit from corporate welfare while ordinary citizens are denied opportunities and a level playing field. I agree with him. Democrats and Republicans have too often favored policies and regulations that pick winners and losers. This helps perpetuate a cycle of control, dependency, cronyism and poverty in the United States. These are complicated issues, but it’s not enough to say that government alone is to blame. Large portions of the business community have actively pushed for these policies.

6:25: Noam Chomsky praises Sanders on Al Jazeera

6:18: Why is he raising expectations? Let your surrogates/staffers talk process:

Trump predicts an even bigger win in SC than in NH. "If so we're going to run the table." — Trip Gabriel (@tripgabriel) February 18, 2016

6:12: Looks like a left-wing royal rumble may break out in Las Vegas tonight during the Clinton/Sanders town hall. Dolores Huerta, in pre-game remarks, has been calling out Bernie Sanders for not supporting George W. Bush/Ted Kennedy’s comprehensive amnesty bill: “Bernie, where have you been?”

"Bernie, where have you been? He’s coming to the Latino community now that he needs its vote.” — Dolores Huerta https://t.co/J5T0nsGxDd — Kate Linthicum (@katelinthicum) February 18, 2016

5:56 pm – Jebmentum?

Long lines here in Greenville, SC to see Ted Cruz and Ben Carson pic.twitter.com/hP2HzexYdx — Kira Lerner (@kira_lerner) February 18, 2016

Crowd pretty packed for @JebBush here. Again at least 20 more mins until event scheduled to start. Interesting. pic.twitter.com/8ibIZmTvAv — Matthew Boyle (@mboyle1) February 18, 2016

5:30 pm – Matt Boyle live at Jeb events through the day says even Governor “Act of Love” is down with a border wall now:

BTW earlier today @JebBush said he supports border wall. So now every Republican candidate supports a border wall. — Matthew Boyle (@mboyle1) February 18, 2016

5:16 pm – MTV mocks Marco Rubio for saying the lyrics to EDM–which is tied to a hedonistic rave scene–are “clean” with a list of seven very raunchy electronic dance songs.

5:08 pm – Stunning statistic. It’s been almost three months since Hillary took a question from the press on the campaign trail.

For this counting (@amychozick): It has been 76 days since Hillary Clinton held a press conference or gaggled with her traveling press. — Dan Merica (@merica) February 18, 2016

Fact Check: True. (On the night of Friday 12/4, in Fort Dodge, IA, she took 5 questions) https://t.co/10Ppi6ebCW — Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) February 18, 2016

5:03 pm – New WSJ/NBC poll has Sanders -11 to Hillary nationally.

Breaking: WSJ/NBC poll shows Bernie Sanders has cut Hillary Clinton's once-commanding lead.

Clinton 53%

Sanders 42%https://t.co/mtviaNOkRy — Capital Journal (@WSJPolitics) February 18, 2016

5:01 pm – The Guardian would like you to know that the 300 members of a South Carolina town called “Islamville” do not feel safe because of Donald Trump:

Islamville, South Carolina's all-Muslim town, faces Trump effect: 'We feel unsafe' https://t.co/XUmmDR9Bz7 — Paul Harris (@paulxharris) February 18, 2016

4:58 pm – Cosmo interviews young women who support Bernie Sanders and asks them what issues are more important to them than electing the first woman president. They respond:

Student loans

Minimum wage hike

Socialism–i.e., roads and bridges

Healthcare

4:51 pm – A hug from the prince of light and hope.

Kasich shares emotional hug with supporter in SC | WATCH: https://t.co/QImupiMXUs pic.twitter.com/Mbjo59RfmW — The Hill (@thehill) February 18, 2016

4:35 pm – Breitbart’s Matthew Boyle:

Right now @marcorubio is flailing all over the place on immigration and trade on CNN. What an awful interview for him — Matthew Boyle (@mboyle1) February 18, 2016

4:05: Bob Dole hoping Rubio finishes second in South Carolina.

3:55: Sanders met with black leaders in D.C. Danny Glover, who has endorsed Sanders, and his wife also attended:

The gathering, held at the Washington offices of the National Urban League, centered on how Mr. Sanders’s policies would address the racial components of economic injustice, overhaul the criminal justice system, protect voting rights and address institutional racism. The black leaders at the meeting included Marc H. Morial, the chief executive of the National Urban League; the Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network; Cornell William Brooks, president of the N.A.A.C.P.; Melanie L. Campbell, president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation; and Benjamin L. Crump, president of the National Bar Association and a supporter of Mrs. Clinton.

3:52: Cruz campaigns with Mike Lee, who hasn’t endorsed anyone yet:

And Cruz–> "Mike Lee is someone I love like a brother." — Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) February 18, 2016

.@TedCruz jokes Mike Lee woos his wife with "snippets of the preamble." Cruz adds: "It could be worse. He could be singing show tunes." — Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) February 18, 2016

Mike Lee when he met Cruz pre-2012 says he said, "It's like we are soulmates or something." — Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) February 18, 2016

In SC, Mike Lee says when the Senate was pushing amnesty, Cruz was "one man" who "fought against the bill at every single step." — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 18, 2016

3:50: CNN announces Dem SC town hall next week:

CNN announced it will host a Democratic town hall event in South Carolina on Tuesday from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. ET. The event allows Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who will take the stage first, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will appear last, the opportunity to answer questions from Palmetto State voters, who go to the polls on Saturday, February 27. CNN’s Chris Cuomo will moderate the event, which will be held on the University of South Carolina’s campus.

3:47: After Bruce Jenner says he gets more flak for being a conservative than a trans, Kendall Jenner endorses Hillary:

3:45: Latino Victory Fund for Hillary.

3:35: Todd Starnes:

Hey Pope — let he who is without walls cast the first stone. @realDonaldTrump — toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) February 18, 2016

3:30: Trump on Fox:

3:2o: Worth pointing out here the elitist and clueless Cillizza did not write the post… he just Tweeted it out:

https://twitter.com/NolteNC/status/700411972664356864

3:10: Cruz blasts Obama for being eager to travel to Cuba but not even having the time to attend Justice Scalia’s funeral

Cruz also blasted @POTUS, who he says is "eager to travel to Cuba but unwilling to show up at funeral of Justice Scalia." — Dan Gallo (@dangallo) February 18, 2016

2:50: Just 4% of South Carolinians are Catholic:

South Carolina is one of the least Catholic states in America. With 3,929 Catholics per 100,000 people, it’s ranked No. 48 out of 50. — Hunter Schwarz (@hunterschwarz) February 18, 2016

2:45: Jerry Falwell Jr. to CNN’s Ashleigh Banfield: ‘Jesus never intended to give instructions to political leaders on how to run a country’

Well, I’ve gotten to know Donald Trump very well over the last four years and I’ve seen his generosity to strangers, to his employees, his warm relationship with his children, and I’m convinced – I spent a lot of time with him on his plane recently and personal conversations. I’m convinced he’s a Christian. I believe he has faith in Jesus Christ. […] I think John F. Kennedy would be rolling over in his grave right now if he could hear what the pope was saying, because that’s a man who fought to be president against lots of prejudice, because many protestants in this country did not want to elect a catholic president. And he broke down those barriers and now here’s the pope trying to say, we have to elect leaders. Jesus said render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. That means choose the best president. […] Jesus never intended to give instructions to political leaders on how to run a country. And that’s clear through all his teachings. And he made that more clear than almost anything else. So I think that’s the – you know, Jesus told us to help the poor, but he never said vote for somebody who is going to take money from your neighbor and give it to the poor. That’s – Jesus never told us whether to vote for a socialist or a capitalist. He told us to render under Caesar, use our own brains to decide who would be the best political leader.

2:30: Team Hillary Pulling Out All The Stops. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), the godfather of the modern amnesty movement, rips Bernie Sanders in Univision:

Every time an election rolls around, candidates fall all over themselves to proclaim their allegiance to the Latino community. Hillary Clinton is different. I was proud to endorse her because she is the rare loyal candidate who has been fighting for us her entire career. It goes back to traveling across Texas in 1972 to register Latino voters and to organizing the first-ever White House conference on Hispanic Children and Youth. But it is her time in the U.S. Senate, fighting hard for comprehensive immigration reform that sets her apart from Bernie Sanders. Hillary is the only candidate in this race who has always had our backs. Six months ago, I did an interview with Larry King where I asked whether Bernie Sanders even liked immigrants or cared about Latinos and our issues. He had been silent on immigration and our other priorities and within a week or two, Sanders was talking about immigration. He was saying all the right things, but it raised a very important question in my mind: where was Sanders when we really needed him? I have observed Sanders first in the House of Representatives and later in the Senate and I have to say, he was absent from most of the crucial immigration debates. And when he did show up, his record was troubling.

2:15: Coulter not a Rubio fan, to say the least. Makes good point about Trump:

For anyone who still doubts estab considers Trump a threat to permanent, mass immigration: Pope Francis: Donald Trump Is ‘Not Christian’ — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 18, 2016

What a 2-faced weasel Rubio is: https://t.co/85SSN8vkDW — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 18, 2016

2:12: Sarah Palin whacks Glenn Beck with a Hacksaw Jim Duggan two-by-four:

2:10: Team Kasich attacks Bush (interesting: Bush’s team is accusing Rubio’s team of leaking to/co-opting Erick Erickson):

https://twitter.com/MattSDavid/status/700394422815444992

2:07: Washington Post on Rubio, whom they have often described as a “man in a hurry”:

Marco Rubio secured a spot on a 9/11 committee. Then he skipped many of the meetings. https://t.co/Cfp0KD4XGo via @roigfranzia — Dan Eggen (@DanEggenWPost) February 18, 2016

2:05: Plenty of Bernie supporters in… Canada:

Interesting: 40,000 Vancouverites eligible to vote for Bernie Sanders locally in primaries, says 'BC For Bernie' org pic.twitter.com/4BPYdzjTgk — Vancouver Is Awesome (@VIAwesome) February 18, 2016

2:00: There he goes again: Daily Beast/CNN contributor who told a Breitbart News editor to go “f*ck yourself” has also said that Trump is a bigger threat than ISIS.

Hey @realDonaldTrump – my Mom is Catholic. You are an asshole. — (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) February 18, 2016

Trump outraged Pope says trump's views mean he's not a Christian. Of course trump had no problem with attempting to paint Obama as a Muslim — (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) February 18, 2016

Under a president Trump Pope Francis and Muslims would be banned from America — (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) February 18, 2016

1:52: Yet Mike Murphy will still be considered a “guru” by stale Beltway media elites who have no clue why Americans are tuning them out more and more. Might as well hire DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, and Andre Drummond to instruct your viewers how to make free throws:

Bush Super PAC spent about as much as Rubio, Cruz, Carson, Trump + their Super PACs spent combined in SC – Wesleyan https://t.co/u7QMvox51b — Rick Klein (@rickklein) February 18, 2016

1:50: Working hard to be her VP:

On Clinton press call, @SecretaryCastro says listening to Sanders is like "listening to the same Republican anti-immigration playbook" — Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) February 18, 2016

.@SecretaryCastro on Clinton press call about Sanders/immigration: "Senator Sanders consistently wasn’t there when we needed him the most" — Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) February 18, 2016

1:48: Which candidate would Pope Francis favor?

1:47: Jeb! jokes about his favorite book:

Jeb Bush, asked his favorite book, jokes, "Art of the Deal." — Dan Balz (@danbalz) February 18, 2016

1:45: Graham says Jeb! is surging!

Lindsey Graham tells @PeterAlexander Bush is surging.

"Trump is solidifying crazy. Cruz is taking a hit & Rubio's stuck." — Beth Fouhy (@bfouhy) February 18, 2016

1:38: Team Rubio Blasts Cruz campaign’s deceptive campaign tactics:

https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/700335461819146240/photo/1

1:37: Cruz Super PAC attacks Rubio as “errand boy” for Sugar Industry

1:35: Rubio on Pope Francis’s remarks:

“I’d like to see the Holy Father’s full statement and the context of it before I comment fully,” Rubio reportedly said. “I’ll just say this, there’s no nation that is more compassionate on immigration than we are. We accept a million a people a year in the United States. Legally. Every year. Mexico doesn’t do that. No other country in the world does that. But we’re a soverign country and we have a right to control who comes in, when they come in and how they come in. Vatican City controls who comes in, when they come in and how they come in.”

1:30: Jeb! Not ‘Un-Christian… to Make Sure People Don’t Come Across Our Border Illegally’

Bush said he doesn’t question anybody’s Christianity and when asked about the Pope’s comments about it being “not Christian” to build a border wall, Bush said, “I don’t know what that means.” He added that “that’s not an un-Christian thing to do… to make sure people don’t come across our border illegally. That’s a just thing to do.”

1:26: Monmouth Poll: Young black voters in South Carolina not feeling the bern:

Among white voters under the age of 50, Sanders has a small, statistically insignificant lead of 48% to 44% over Clinton, but among black voters under 50, Clinton has a sizable 60% to 26% advantage. This is only slightly smaller than Clinton’s 69% to 12% lead among black voters age 50 and older and is actually wider than the 59% to 39% lead she holds among older white voters in South Carolina.

1:22: But they said talk of a Rubio-Haley ticket was “premature”

Rubio: nominee "out of their mind" if they don't consider Haley for veep — Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) February 18, 2016

1:20: Kirsten Powers on Hillary:

Where the Clinton campaign might be right is that the state could end up favoring her opponent. Bernie is a problem Hillary can’t figure out how to solve, perhaps because he’s not the problem. She is.

1:17: Vile Michael Moore, with whom Megyn Kelly had a “love-fest” on air:

This is a brilliant idea. Every time there's a mass shooting, let's all of us re-post Jeb Bush's "America" tweet. https://t.co/ZO0BJWUGPP — Michael Moore (@MMFlint) February 18, 2016

1:13 pm: Not rigged?

AP survey: Clinton adds to wide delegate lead over Sanders thanks to Democratic Party insiders: https://t.co/CzB1zWT0Fl — The Associated Press (@AP) February 18, 2016

1:12 pm: Trump supporters not happy with the Pope.

Just talked to over half a dozen Trump supporters leaving his event. Most said they were "shocked" to hear this FROM THE POPE. — Ali Vitali (@alivitali) February 18, 2016

1:10 pm: Muslims for Bernie!

We are proud to be joined by our NYC Muslim Brothers and Sisters in fighting racial injustice and income inequality. https://t.co/XtZ0j0qREh — Team Bernie NY (@TeamBernieNY) February 18, 2016

12:38 pm – Jeb getting Jebbier by the day.

.@JebBush says Millennials "Are all into socialism. … Wowzer." — Cameron Joseph (@cam_joseph) February 18, 2016

12:02 pm – Pope Francis says Trump is “not a Christian.”

Pope Francis on Trump: "A person who thinks only about building walls…is not Christian.” https://t.co/G2McyQcneD pic.twitter.com/6A2dOxyZgx — Dan Linden (@DanLinden) February 18, 2016

11:19 am – Rubio’s campaign is taking offense at a Cruz site featuring a photoshopped image of Rubio shaking hands with Obama.

“There is a culture of dishonesty from top to bottom in the Cruz for president campaign,” [senior Rubio adviser Todd] Harris told reporters after a campaign rally. “It is reflected in what Ted Cruz himself says, it’s reflected by phony Facebook pages that his supporters put up, it’s reflected by calls to Iowa voters saying Ben Carson dropped out. … And now the latest example is a completely invented photo of Marco Rubio attacking us for a position that Ted Cruz himself held a few short months ago.”

10:52 am – More bad news for Hillary Clinton in Nevada. Neither Harry Reid nor the AFL-CIO will endorse. These are endorsements Hillary should have sewn up long ago, but people-in-the-know are hedging their bets.

10:43 am – Small fire reported at Trump Tower in Chicago

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#BREAKING: Firefighters respond to reports of fire at Chicago’s Trump Tower https://t.co/oELWDvQzpR pic.twitter.com/M7EbTnERt6 — NBC Chicago (@nbcchicago) February 18, 2016

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10:27 am – First Read: Nevada is everything for Clinton and Sanders

A Clinton loss — in a state where she held the early organizational and demographic advantages — would launch another week’s worth of negative headlines for her campaign, hardly the momentum it wants going into South Carolina. (“Will there be a shakeup?” “Is Mike Bloomberg going to jump in?” “Is there any way that Joe Biden could reconsider?” “How is she losing to a democratic socialist who didn’t even belong to the party until now?”) So it would be painful loss. But as we wrote earlier this week, a Sanders loss could even be more impactful because it would set up Hillary Clinton to start running the table over the next two weeks in South Carolina and the southern March 1 states.

The Democrat Nevada caucus is this Saturday.

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10:12 am – Three new national polls show Trump way ahead. NBC poll is almost certainly an outlier.

Reuters: Trump 40%, Cruz 17%, Rubio 11%, Carson 10%, Bush 8%.

USA Today: Trump 35%, Cruz 20%, Rubio at 17%.

And the CBS national poll below.

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9:59 am – Brand-spanking new post-debate SC poll has Trump up +13. Voting starts the day after tomorrow.

Trump 32, Cruz 19, Rubio 15, Carson 9, Bush 9, Kasich 6.

Note how Trump beats the Establishment crew of Rubio, Kasich, and Bush combined.

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Trump+13 in SC. Fox releases new Nat poll 6pm on Special Report. https://t.co/xGOOYIiM5H — John Nolte (@NolteNC) February 18, 2016

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9:48 am – Cruz people raise expectations for Rubio in SC.

Appearing on MSNBC, Ted Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler is raising expectations for Rubio in South Carolina. In so many words Tyler said, “So far Rubio has spent $40 million to come in 3rd in Iowa and 5th in New Hampshire. In South Carolina, he’s earned the endorsements of Senator Tim Scott and Governor Nikki Haley. If he doesn’t come in first there, where can he?”

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9:45 am – “God” hacked; tells people to “Vote Trump”

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9:42 am – Hillary Tweets support for Pope Francis’ border visit

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Thankful for @Pontifex‘s visit to the border and call for immigration reform. We need to keep families together, not break them apart. — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 18, 2016

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9:32 – Hillary Clinton will not be in Nevada Saturday

Rather than campaign in Nevada or wait for Saturday night’s results in that state’s caucus, Hillary is headed to Texas Saturday. The latest poll out of Nevada has the race tied.

The problem for Hillary is that if Sanders prevails in Nevada, that blows up the narrative that he can only win in predominantly white states like New Hampshire. As many as 40% of Nevada Democrat voters are minorities. The following Saturday is the Democrat South Carolina primary. Hillary is well ahead but Bernie is creeping up on her. A big win in Nevada could only put more wind in Bernie’s South Carolina sails.

For the Republicans, this coming Saturday is the South Carolina primary and just a few days later on Tuesday is the Nevada primary. As of now, Trump is dominating by double digits in both states.

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9:26 – Slate blasts MSNBC’s Trump town hall as “disgraceful”

Scarborough and Brzezinski hosted what appeared to be a rehearsed and “safe” town hall, in which American voters asked the candidate such hard-hitting questions as “Why did you decide to run for president?” and “how will you set yourself apart” from other Republicans? It was completely worthless television, except in one sense: The program highlighted the many ways in which the media’s coverage of Trump has been soft, insufficient, and without substance.

9:12 am – Trump agrees with Marco Rubio that… Cruz is a liar.

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I agree with Marco Rubio that Ted Cruz is a liar! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2016

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9:05 am – Trump continues to rip Fox News and the Wall Street Journal over outlier national poll…

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.@FoxNews is changing their theme from “fair and balanced” to “unfair and unbalanced.” But dying @WSJ is worse.Their phony poll is a joke! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2016

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9:02 am – Drudge continues to raise legitimate questions the DC Media never would about Hillary’s troubling health…

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Drudge raising questions about Hillary’s health the DC Media never will…. pic.twitter.com/skJFYLC97o — John Nolte (@NolteNC) February 18, 2016

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8:53 am – In new national CBS poll, Trump beats all three Establishment candidates combined. Trump is at 35%. Rubio, Bush, and Kasich total 27%.

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8:36 am – Obama ‘Hope’ artist Shepard Fairey endorses Bernie Sanders

Artist and activist Shepard Fairey, who designed the iconic “Hope” poster during then-Sen. Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, is backing Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. “I’m supporting Bernie Sanders, because I want to push principles, not personalities,” Fairey said in a video released by the Sanders campaign on Wednesday evening.

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8:26 am – Quinnipiac polls show Sanders is MUCH stronger than Hillary in general election:

Sanders 48, Trump 42 Sanders +6

Sanders 49, Cruz 39 Sanders +10

Sanders 47, Rubio 41 Sanders +6

Sanders 45, Kasich 41 Sanders +4

Sanders 49, Bush 39 Sanders +10

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8:18 am – Trump’s Senior Advisor and Social Media Director Dan Scavino blasts Rupert Murdoch over Wall Street Journal’s outlier poll showing Trump behind Cruz nationally.

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10 RECENT NATIONAL POLLS

Which one is affiliated with a newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch? #TrumpTrain #Trump2016 pic.twitter.com/AhQ5NMFiXH — Dan Scavino (@DanScavino) February 18, 2016

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8:09 am – Quinnipiac polls show Hillary in deep, deep trouble in a general election. Kasich and Rubio do best. Bush and Cruz are in a statistical tie. Trump loses by -1 point.

It is important to keep in mind that only Trump has been relentlessly assaulted by the national media during this campaign. Rubio and Kasich have faced nothing close to that. If you are looking at “electability,” ask yourself if your candidate could withstand, as Trump has, months of being called a racist-sexist-fascist-liar. Because they will face that from Hillary’s media.

Clinton 44, Trump 43 Clinton +1

Cruz 46, Clinton 43 Cruz +3

Rubio 48, Clinton 41 Rubio +7

Kasich 47, Clinton 39 Kasich +8

Clinton 43, Bush 44 Bush +1

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8:07 am – Starbucks CEO is uncomfortable with the messiness of freedom.

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7:54 am – From Alex Swoyer: GOP frontrunner Donald Trump posted on Twitter responding to a WSJ/NBC News poll that had him slipping to second place, saying, “Amazing that while I lead by big numbers in the new Q and and USA Today polls, the the press only wants to report on the phony WSJ/NBC poll.”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/700269643789955074

The poll has Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) taking first place and Trump slipping to second.

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7:47 am – Votes might tell us something different Saturday but as of now a slew of polls not only show that Trump is way ahead in South Carolina, but that the debate performance All The Smart People were sure doomed him, had absolutely no effect.

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7:37 am – New national poll from CBS shows Trump up +17, 35% to 18% over second place Ted Cruz. From the looks of it, the NBC poll released to great fanfare yesterday showing Cruz in the lead, was an outlier.

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Highlights: 2/16/16

•Hillary suffers a nearly 3 minute-long coughing fit

•Team Bush, Rubio have spent over $80 million and $50 million on ads respectively

•Rubio says he’ll support the GOP nominee in the general, even if it’s Trump or Cruz

Highlights: 2/17/16

•Jeb Bush at 1% in South Carolina poll

•Trump doing a phone-in interview on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show

•Trump blasting Fox News and Megyn Kelly on Twitter again

•Cruz goes off on Trump, Rubio at press conference

•South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley endorses Rubio over Jeb



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—

Tony Lee: Though Jack Welch had high praise for Cruz after the debate, he sounded too much like a lawyer trying to win points in the weeds while going after Trump. Cruz was strong in appealing to conservatives on a host of issues but he could have come across much better if he had remembered that he was in a town hall setting and not in a courtroom tonight.

@tedcruz making Rubio look like an amateur on CNN now..Comparison makes thinking about voting for Rubio silly — Jack Welch (@jack_welch) February 18, 2016

Earlier in the day, Haley was booed at a Trump town hall event.

Meanwhile, at Trump’s town hall event:

Mika describes a candidate.

Trump thinks it's him.

It's actually @BernieSanders.https://t.co/pJUg0MOVyQ — Mashable News (@MashableNews) February 18, 2016

10:55: Cruz says his favorite cocktail is scotch. Guilty pleasure when he wasn’t running for president was watching movies and playing video games. He says Cruz’s iPhone drives his wife crazy because he plays so many games on it. Cooper asks Cruz about his Simpsons/Princess Bride impersonations and Cruz says part of it is “you have to have fun.” He says Republicans reach young people with substance–point out that the Obama economy is hammering them along with the national debt–and loosening up, cracking jokes, and having fun. Cruz talks about the Cruz street art that went viral last year and he pointed out that he decided to have some fun with them by posting on Facebook that he noticed a glaring error in the posters–he doesn’t smoke cigarettes.

10:52: Question is on most important cabinet position. Cruz says it’s a three-way tie between Secretary of State/Secretary of Defense/Attorney General. He says “Winston Churchill is coming back to the Oval Office” when he is president. He says a Secretary of State in a Cruz administration would be someone like John Bolton. He blasts the lawlessness of the Obama administration (“one of the saddest legacies”) and says it is “sad” that the media accepts as a given re: Hillary’s email scandal that whether someone is prosecuted depends on what some hack in the White House thinks. He says the only fidelity in Cruz Department of Justice will be to the law and the Constitution.

10: 47: Cruz says he will use executive actions to end Common Core, undo Obama’s executive amnesty. He will rip up the Iran Deal to “shreds” and move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. And re: getting things done legislatively, Cruz points out that the last time conservatives defeated the Washington Cartel was in 1980 when Reagan’s grassroots army defeated the Washington establishment just four years after Reagan almost successfully primaried a sitting GOP establishment GOP president. Cruz would call on his grassroots army to compel Congress to enact his agenda.

10:42: Cruz says he will not respond in kind when others are impugning his character during the campaign. He says people in the GOP establishment say “Ted is unlikable in Washington” because he is keeping his promises to the men and women who elected him like trying to defund Planned Parenthood and leading the fight against Obamacare and the “Rubio-Schumer amnesty bill.”

Cruz says he and Jeff Sessions helped defeat Rubio’s amnesty bill in the House and that is why the D.C. establishment that loves amnesty dislikes him.

10:37: Cruz says Rubio and Trump scream “liar, liar” when Cruz points to their record and calls them out on their past statements. He points out that he was correct in saying that Trump supports Planned Parenthood and Rubio supports 1) giving citizenship to all of the country’s illegal immigrants, 2) granting citizenship to illegal immigrants even if they have criminal convictions, 3) supported in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in Florida, and 4) went on Univision and said in Spanish that he would not rescind Obama’s executive amnesty in his first day in office. Cruz says Rubio never disputed any of the substance. “Truth matters,” Cruz says, adding that Jeff Sessions, Mark Levin, Mike Lee, James Dobson, Phyllis Schlafly have also been lying.

10:35: Cruz says he has surged because conservatives trust him more than Trump on judges.

10:33: Cruz says we should not be confirming a Supreme Court nomination during a lame-duck period. He says Scalia, “a lion of the law” single-handedly changed the law and was the Court what Reagan was to the presidency. He says this nomination has the potential to dramatically shift the balance of power on the court and says that 2016 should be a referendum on the Supreme Court.

10:29: Cruz defends his natural-born status and says you cannot write off the possibility of Trump suing him but it will not succeed because it will not be a “meritorious lawsuit.”

10:27: Cruz says America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia has been “fraught with complications.” He blasts the Saudis for paying off terrorists so they don’t destroy the Kingdom and says friends do not fund jihadists who want to kill them. Cruz says oil prices fluctuate because of the Fed and says the Fed should be audited. Cruz also calls for the return to the Gold Standard.

10:22: Cruz says we are seeing an “assault” on religious liberty and Judeo-Christian values. He says life, marriage, and religious liberty are intertwined and says “you should know them by their fruits.” Cruz asks the questioner to ask candidates what they have done to protect life, marriage, religious liberty. He calls the Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision “nothing short of tragic” and blasts establishment Republicans for echoing Obama’s talking points about “settled law.” Cruz says it was a “lawless” and “illegitimate” decision that will not stand because it is inconsistent with the Constitution. Cruz says religious liberty has been a lifelong passion of his and cites his successful defenses of the Pledge of Allegiances, the Ten Commandments. He points out that he also defended the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial Cross and won 5-4 in the Supreme Court.

10:20: Cruz says it was “ridiculous” that Donald Trump slammed George W. Bush for not keeping the country safe and defended impeaching George W. Bush. He said Trump had no proof that Bush committed “high crimes and misdemeanors.” He says it draws into question Trump’s judgment that he supports views associated with Michael Moore and the fever swamps on the left.

10:17: Cruz blasts GOP candidates for being okay with women being drafted to serve. He says the military should not be engaging social experiments or be governed by “political correctness.” Cruz says “we will not be drafting our daughters into combat on the front lines” if he is president. He says it makes “no sense.” Cruz also blasts the Obama administration’s rules of engagement that tie the arms of our servicemen and women behind their backs.

10:12: Cruz thanks the questioner for his service and says Obama doesn’t “believe in the mission of the military” and weakens and degrades them while not standing by our troops. He says veterans across South Carolina have expressed their frustration. He says after Carter weakened the military, Reagan ushered in an economic boom and rebuilt the military to bankrupt the Soviets and win the Cold War. Cruz says he will unleash the American economy to grow the military in order to defeat ISIS.

He says getting rid of Assad will be worse for America because ISIS will become even more powerful and Syria will become like Libya.

10:10: Cruz mentions his wife is the daughter of missionaries. He says Heidi (his best friend) will be involved in economic development and educational empowerment issues as First Lady. Cruz says school choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century and his wife cares about giving minorities more educational opportunities. He admits that he sings to his wife when he calls her and sings “I just called to say I love you.”

10:06: Cruz smartly punts when he is asked to choose between Clemson and South Carolina. He says he will “shamelessly waffle” and say he “loves them both.”

10:05: Cruz is worried that Obama will give Guantanamo back to Cuba at the end of his term and undermine America’s national security. He blasts Obama for releasing Guantanamo prisoners American soldiers bled and died to capture. He says they will return to the battlefield in the future to harm Americans.

10:02: Cruz on Obama’s plans to visit Cuba. Cruz says he will not visit Cuba as President so long as the Castros are in power. He blasts Obama’s foreign policy for “alienating and abandoning” our friends. He says no administration has been more “hostile” to Israel than the Obama administration. He says Obama should be pushing for a free Cuba and it is a “mistake” for him to visit. He slams the Obama administration for silencing Cuban dissidents and speaks about how his father/aunt were tortured in Cuba.

10:oo: Cruz says Apple should be forced to unlock the phones of the San Bernardino terrorists but not be forced to have backdoor encryption technology in all of their phones.

9:58: Cruz says Trump’s sister is a radical, “pro-abortion” judge and slams Trump for suggesting that his sister would be a great Supreme Court Justice. He also slams Trump for giving to Democrats who are very pro-abortion. He says there is no universe where he could write a check to people like John Kerry and Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer. He says anyone who does that does not care about Supreme Court Justices.

9:57: Cruz says Planned Parenthood is the “largest abortionist” in the country and says he doesn’t think Planned Parenthood does “anything wonderful.” He slams Trump, saying he doesn’t think anyone who is pro-life can say that Planned Parenthood does wonderful things. Cruz does not believe Planned Parenthood should get taxpayer funds.

9:54: Cruz says he “laughed out loud” when he got Trump’s cease and desist letters. He says it pressed the bounds of one of the most frivolous/ridiculous letters he has ever received and points out that Trump has sued people for most of his life. Cruz says Trump’s position is running an ad with Trump’s own words is defamation. Cruz says he wants Trump to file his lawsuit because he wants to depose him.

9:52: Cruz says “it feels fantastic” that the old Reagan coalition is coming together after Cooper mentions that he now beast Trump in the latest WSJ/NBC national poll.

9:48: Rubio says he is lucky his wife and kids will love him even if he loses. He says he felt like a cornerback who gave up a big play/touchdown after New Hampshire but sports has taught him how to deal with setbacks. Rubio says he would like to coach his son’s football team if elected president and says though he worries about his son getting a concussion, there are inherent risks in competitive cheerleading and driving to work. Rubio says he grew up listening to west coast hip hop music but he now like EDM. He says he’s never been to a rave, though (but he jokes that he has the boots for it).

9:44: Rubio says he’s seen Trump smile when Cooper asks about Cruz’s assertion that Rubio is Donald Trump with a smile re: campaign tactics.

9:42: Rubio is asked what he would do to unify the Republican Party and the American people to win the general. Rubio says we are blessed that we solve through elections what other countries solve through civil wars. Rubio says he is being attacked because he is appealing to every voter in the Republican coalition. He vows to grow the GOP if nominated and be a president for all Americans who loves the American people even if they don’t love him back.

9:40: Questioner asks Rubio about Reagan/refugee resettlement/compassionate conservatism:

Rubio says America must always be a place that allows people seeking refuge from political prosecution and violence to come, but he says Reagan did not have to face a radical Jihadist group that is trying to use America’s immigration laws against the United States. Rubio says ISIS can forge passports and points out that we have to be 100% right on the refugees we admit, which means our vetting process must be stricter than it has ever been. He admits it is nearly impossible to vet Syrian refugees. He says if we don’t know who you are, we’re not going to allow you to come in. Typical semi-non-answer from Rubio.

9:37: Rubio says he wanted to play in the NFL when Cooper asks him if he always wanted to do public service. He says his grandfather, a reader at a cigar shop, instilled in him an interest in politics/world affairs.

9:35: Rubio says he has three educators in his family and he talks bout schools inheriting whatever society sends them in the morning. Rubio says there is no law he can pass to make people become better parents. But he says we need to empower parents and his tax plan increases the per-child tax credit. He says ultimately, there is not a federal government solution to every problem but leaders should remind people that what happens in your house is more important than what happens in the White House. He says his most important job will always be being a father. He says there should be no laws that discourage marriage or undermine parents.

9:33: Rubio says the Supreme Court can function with eight justices and “this is going to be an issue in the campaign.” He says the new president will get the opportunity to nominate a Justice. Rubio says he would not nominate a Justice if he were president.

9:27: Rubio says it is not the Fed’s job to stimulate the economy and is not a special Jedi council. Rubio talks about how disruptive today’s economy is and we have to make America a friendlier place in a globally competitive economy (he talks up lowering taxes and eliminating regulations). He warns against America’s debt crisis and speaks about reforms to Social Security/Medicare to balance the budget and leave Social Security/Medicare undisturbed for current beneficiaries.

[This is where Rubio’s support of comprehensive amnesty hurts him with working-class Americans]

9:24: When Cooper asks Rubio if he has felt the sting of racism, he says that his parents were extraordinary people who raised him to believe that there was nothing he could not do. He says in Las Vegas, some older kids were taunting his family about going back to their country on a boat, etc. during the Mariel boat lift. He says his parents never raised him to feel like he was a victim but he doesn’t deny that there are people in this country that have had a different experience.

He says “we have some blemishes in our history” that America is still fighting but America, he says, is a nation of “perpetual improvement” an talks about how far America and South Carolina have come since the 1960s. He says a Governor of Indian descent endorsed someone of Cuban descent in South Carolina… and they’ll be campaigning with a black Republican in South Carolina tomorrow–and that says a lot about today’s GOP.

9:20: Questioner asks Rubio how he would address racism while unifying the country. Rubio says the families of the victims of the Charleston massacre had a profound impact on the nation by forgiving the killer. He says race relations, centered around law enforcement, are difficult. He says the overwhelming majority of law enforcement agents are incredible people who risk their lives for our safety/security but he also knows that there are communities in this country where minority communities/police department have terrible relationships. Rubio says there are African-American males who think they are treated differently and if a significant percentage of the American family believes they are being treated differently, then “we have a problem” and we have to address it as a society and a country. He says there may not be a political solution but there are things we can do to address the issue. He pivots to minority children growing up in broken homes, in dangerous neighborhoods, living substandard housing, and being forced to go to underperforming schools. He says they have four strikes against them and speaks about plans to address those strikes against them. He cites Geoffrey Canada’s work on the issue,

9:18: Female questioner asks Rubio about women in combat. She says that may require the military to lessen standards. Rubio says the military is not where we should lessen standards–he says he is open to members of both genders serving so long as they meet common standards. He says plenty of men can’t meet the standard as well and he will not lower standards.

9:16: Rubio says Obama is a failure not because he was a one-term Senator but because his ideas don’t work (his philosophy is a failed one). Rubio says he has 15 years of experience turning conservative ideas into conservative action. He talks up his eminent domain legislation in Florida that he passed, reducing property taxes, and other educational accomplishments in Florida.

[nothing about wanting to dispel the notion that Obama doesn’t know what he is doing]

9:11: A retired General asks Rubio what has prepared him to be the country’s Commander-in-Chief. Rubio thanks him and all veterans for their service. Rubio says the most important job of being President is being Commander-in-Chief. He says he knows he hasn’t lived as long as those running for president, but he has more national security experience than anyone running. He claims he has “good judgment” on foreign policy and says he was proven to be right on Libya, ISIS, Syria. He says the hardest vote he has ever taken was his vote not to authorize the use of force in Syria.

9:07: Rubio says he paid off his student loan debt after writing his book. He wants to expand accrediting (alternative accrediting model), talks about his student investment plan (investors can invest in students like they do in start-ups), speaks about his income-based loan repayment plans, and his “right to know before you go” plan (schools have to tell you how much people make while graduating with a degree from that school).

Solid answer by Rubio.

9:04: Rubio is asked about Obama’s plans to visit Cuba. Rubio says he will not visit Cuba unless it is a free Cuba. He says the Cuban government is an anti-American Communist dictatorship. He says the Cuban government is repressive and harbors American fugitives (esp. re: medical fraud).

9:01: Rubio says government has to work with Silicon Valley on a way forward to protect the privacy of Americans while ensuring that law enforcement officials can get access to data from terrorists/potential terrorists. Rubio warns against creating a technological backdoor that will allow cybercriminals to steal people’s data.

8:59: Rubio is asked about Obama’s comments about Rubio running away from his Gang of Eight amnesty bill. Rubio says Obama has no standing to talk about immigration after he failed to get it enacted when Democrats controlled Congress. Rubio says the key that unlocks the door to the rest of the issue is securing the border. Rubio says people won’t support a comprehensive approach to immigration and “we have to understand that the only way forward” is a step-by-step approach. Rubio again claims he did not think his Senate amnesty bill could not pass and, after that experience, he has learned that no progress will be made on immigration until we build walls, fences on the border and prove to Americans that the border is secure.

8:57: Rubio says he is feeling the “Marco-mentum” and we’ll find out more on Saturday. Rubio says what Cruz did to Carson in Iowa was “wrong” and insists that Cruz is a liar. He says these things are “disturbing” but are not at the core of his campaign.

8:56: Obama to visit Cuba next month:

https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/700135616604983296/photo/1

8:53: Rubio, riding high from his Haley endorsement, is up next.

8:52: Carson says he loves to play pool to relax but he likes to win. He says his wife learned how to play pool and now is an excellent player. Carson listens to classical music, which he listened to while doing surgeries.

8:50: Carson says he misses what medicine used to be and does not like what it has become. He says doctors today don’t even have time to look at a patient and that is an essential part of medical care that is being lost.

8:49: Cooper asks Carson what goes through his mind on the debate stage. Carson says he is thinking if anyone remembers what happened in 2012, when Republicans tore each other apart and allowed Obama to win. Carson says he would relish running against either Clinton or Sanders.

8:47: Questioner says she appreciates Carson’s mild-manner nature but worries that Carson will not be able to get his message out in the general election against a boisterous Democrat. Carson says that as a pediatric neurosurgeon, he got people’s attention by speaking softly. He says the key is not so much the volume but the content of what y0u say. He says that is what is going to make the difference. He says Americans will be smart enough to understand the difference between bluster/rhetoric and the truth. He says it will be easy to counter Sanders’s message of “free college for everyone.” Carson quotes Thatcher–“Socialism is great until you run out of other people’s money.”

8:44: Carson is asked about China’s corporate espionage. Carson says “we are being hit thousands of times a day” by cyberattacks from China and other places. Carson says that is why he has advocated for a “comprehensive solution” for cybersecurity that involves public/private partnership where there can be a common place where attacks can be reported. Carson says he would not be reluctant to go on the offensive in cyberspace. Carson says he is nice but he also wants to protect Americans.

8:41: A Clemson student asks Carson about criminal justice reform. Carson says that America has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s inmates, which means something is “askew.” Carson says we send non-violent criminals to the university where they become violent criminals. Carson says if prisoners are going to be reintegrated into society, we have to think about offering them practical training, etc. He says he would take another look at mandatory minimum sentencing, etc. Carson warns against putting mentally unstable people with violent inmates and then releasing them into society after their prison term.

8:35: Would Carson be open to serving as Surgeon General or head of the Department of Health and Human Services? Carson says after 15,000 operations, he definitely not just looking for a job. He says our country is on the precipice and is about to go over the edge. He says we will go over that edge if we continue with politics as usual. He says we can’t tinker around the edges and get America’s economic engine rolling again. Carson says we are starting to lose sight of who we are because we are giving away our identity and values for the sake of political correctness. He says he has a vision that he thinks he shares with “we the people.” He says it would be difficult for him to serve in an administration that didn’t have the same vision.

8:33: Questioner asks Carson what his “big idea” would be if he is elected president. Carson says he has “multiple big ideas” and says that we have only 330 million people while China has 1.4 billion people and India has 1.1. billion. He says we have to compete with them on the world’s stage and can’t afford to waste any of our people. He says we can’t have so many Americans dropping out of high school and have 25% of the world’s inmates. He says for every one of the young people we can keep from going down the path of self-destruction, that is one more person we don’t have to be afraid/pay for, etc. His “big idea” would be not throwing away any of our people.

8:30: An undecided voter who works in the defense industry asks Carson about guns. He says he has just recently felt the need to own a gun and asks what his plan is to protect the American people and preserve his right to own a gun. He says the 2nd Amendment is there so people can assist the government in case of an invasion and people can protect themselves in case the government became tyrannical and tried to rule the people. He says we’ve had guns for hundreds of years and been free for hundreds of years and “I think there may be a correlation there.” He says politicians should be offering free gun lessons after terrorist attacks instead of trying to take them away. Carson says he has “multiple marksmanship awards” from ROTC and owns guns. He says he doesn’t know if he has ever felt the need to have a gun but he likes having a gun.

8:27: Carson says he is more than qualified to handle the country’s national security. He says our system was designed for citizens and he says he has had more 2 am phone calls where he had to make life or death decisions than anybody. Carson says we need people who know how to solve problems and not people who can talk. Carson speaks about all of the innovation he has been responsible for at Johns Hopkins and the scholarship fund he has started. He says he has spent 18 years on Kellogg’s boar and 16 years on Costco’s. He mentions that a lot of politicians lack the experience he has had.

Town hall format is good for Carson unlike the debates, where he gets 10-seconds.

8:26: At Trump’s town hall event:

Why does Donald Trump keep attacking Jeb Bush? At MSNBC town hall, he says:

"Because he's sort of easy to hit, to be honest with you." — Jenna Johnson (@wpjenna) February 18, 2016

8:25: First questioner asks Carson how he would reconcile Christian values with the current GOP’s position on social issues, welfare. This is a Republican town hall event? Seriously?

Carson says it is not the government’s job to take care of everybody, take care of poverty, etc. He blasts the “War on Poverty” for creating more poverty, leading to more broken home and incarceration. He says he wishes the government would read the Constitution and says maybe they read the preamble (general welfare clause) and thought it meant putting everybody on welfare. Carson talks about out-of-wedlock births and says the education of the mother stops when they have the baby…. he says we should encourage mothers to go back to school and become independent to break the cycle of dependency. He says having people dependent on government is not compassionate.

8:24: Carson says a potential Justice’s life would be his litmus test.

8:23: Carson says he would nominate a Supreme Court Justice if he were president but that does not mean the Senate has to confirm his choice. He blasts the partisanship of the nominating process.

8:22: Carson says Apple has good reason not to trust the government “but we’re going to have to get over that” because radical Jihadists “want to destroy us.” He says there needs to be a public/private partnership when it comes to technology/cybersecurity because “we’re all at risk in a very significant way.” He says Apple needs to sit down with trustworthy members of the government–he says they may have to wait until the next president–and hammer out an agreement.

8:20: Carson says brain surgery is a lot harder than politics. He says it’s been wonderful to meet so many people across the country and hear their concerns but it hasn’t been great dealing with the press.

8:07: Scalia commits that he won’t appoint anyone to the Supreme Court if they do not agree with Scalia on Heller.

8:05: Trump says that he has never done well in the WSJ poll — he says someone over there must not like him. He says he is “honored” by most of the poll results that have him ahead. Trump says he has had “great success” with lawsuits. He says he doesn’t know if he is going to have a lawsuit but he needs to keep people honest.

8:04: Interesting observation:

Every rally ppl rush to get signs/hats/books signed. The victorious come out smiling like they won the lottery. pic.twitter.com/uSXAPLc0H2 — Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) February 17, 2016

8:03: Trump again says what Cruz’s team did to Carson was “disgraceful” at MSNBC’s town hall event.

8:00: CNN’s Anderson Cooper will host tonight’s town hall with South Carolina voters.

7:55: CNN’s town hall with Messrs. Carson, Cruz and Rubio will start in five minutes. MSNBC will air Trump’s town hall event, which was recorded earlier, in the same time slot.

7:17: In an interview with Chris Matthews, Kasich can’t envision Trump being president. He says debates are a ridiculous way to pick a president.

7:15: From Swoyer in South Carolina: Roughly 3-4 thousand in Sumter, SC on Wednesday night to see Donald Trump:

(Photo: Alex Swoyer/Breitbart News)

Video here: Trump in Sumter, SC

7:00: Must have occurred before Haley endorsed Rubio:

https://twitter.com/TIME/status/700018575499751424/photo/1

6:58: Univ. of South Carolina Rubio supporter: “A frightening number” of University of South Carolina students supporting Donald Trump.

C-SPAN’s Susan Swain asked a University of South Carolina student who supports Rubio after Rubio’s rally how much interest there is in the election on campus. He said there’s a lot of interest going around and a “frightening number of people like Donald Trump,” and he is in the camp of anybody who can catch Trump.

6:55: Rubio speaks to some supporters in Spanish, and he tells them that he has to get to CNN’s GOP forum un Greenville. A University of South Carolina students tells C-SPAN he is going to vote for Rubio over Bush.

6:50: Jeb! supporters want Bush to be more of a “Son-of-a-bitch” like Dubya:

[Tony Lee: I think Jeb!’s biggest mistake in the election cycle was going on the ridiculous Paleo diet (not deciding to wear glasses), which has been known to make people “low energy.” Maybe his advisers wanted him to look more metro, but a heftier Jeb Bush actually seems more robust/energetic and stronger, and it may have been tougher for Trump to dismiss him as a weak and effeminate loser who embodied many of the traits that Americans hate about those in the professional political/chattering class in D.C.]

6:35: Another South Carolina poll with Trump on top:

Here's one of the graphs from our February 16th #SCPrimary2016 Poll View more here: https://t.co/jIF8e5R6jL pic.twitter.com/V3ZGu3zn7D — SC House GOP Caucus (@SCHouseGOP) February 17, 2016

6:26: Rubio talks up American exceptionalism. Points out that our rights come from God and not from government. Rubio says we have to win the “future” in addition to the election. He says there’s an opportunity to grow the conservative movement. He says it is a lie that Democrats are the party of the working-class while Republicans are for rich people. He mentions that his mom was a maid and says Republicans need to be the party of maids, cab drivers, single mothers, young people, etc. Rubio calls on Americans to be the authors of what will be the greatest chapter in America’s history. Haley says “this is one of the many bruises” she’ll take for Rubio and asks the crowd to go to the polls in record numbers for Rubio. She urges the crowd to take photos of them and spread them on social media platforms like Instagram.

[But big-money donors on the left and right covet the comprehensive amnesty bill that Rubio championed. Will be a tough sell to working Americans.]

6:25: Scene at Rubio’s rally with Haley:

https://twitter.com/RobertKittle/status/700097415118893056/photo/1

6:20: Another South Carolina poll has Trump on top:

Breaking: Latest #SouthCarolina Poll Results:

Donald Trump: 33%

Ted Cruz: 20%

Marco Rubio: 19%

Jeb Bush: 9%

John Kasich: 9%

Ben Carson: 5% — Emerson Polling (@EmersonPolling) February 17, 2016

6:12: Rubio says the first words his father learned in English were “I’m looking for work.” He says less than ten years after his parents came to the United States with nothing, they owned a home in a safe neighborhood and lived to see their children do better than they did. Rubio says that’s Haley’s story and everyone else’s story in America. Rubio says the “vast majority” have a story like that–of parents who gave up everything so they could have a life they never had. Rubio says if we stay on the road we are on now, “we are going to be the first Americans that leave their children worse off…” Rubio mocks Sanders for being a Socialist. He blasts Hillary Clinton for being unqualified to be president because she put intelligence information on her server because she thinks she’s above the law and disqualified for lying to the families of the Benghazi victims.

Rubio says Scalia understood the Constitution is not a living/breathing document and Obama will not be able to replace Antonin Scalia.

Rubio says America needs to do what South Carolina is doing in attracting companies like Boeing and BMW and says the election is also about free enterprise, which can make poor people richer without making rich people poorer. [Good line].

Rubio says he will rebuild the U.S. military if he is elected president. He asks veterans to raise their hands so we can thank you for your service. He says what we are doing to our veterans today is “immoral” and says nobody will be fired after calls to the VA’s suicide hotline went to voicemail.

6:10: Rubio says he and his family have spent a lot of time in South Carolina as tourists on their drives to Washington. He says he has learned not to pick sides between South Carolina and Clemson. Rubio says last year the country learned why South Carolina is an inspiration for all. Rubio says the nation was inspired and moved when the victims of the Charleston tragedy forgave the killer.

6:08: Haley says she wants to share a “personal story.” She says she is “always trying to take care of South Carolina” and she felt vulnerable for the first time last year and “the people of South Carolina made us all strong.” Haley says the presidential race is “serious” and thought first and foremost as a mom who wants her children to be safe while getting educational opportunities. She wanted someone, as a military wife, who will get the backs of the military and veterans. She says she wants a President who wants to stop the federal mandates like Obamacare and the EPA. She adds that she wants a President who understands they have to being a “conscience” back to our Republicans. Haley says Rubio is all about “term limits.” She says we have “good people in this race” but her job was to find the person who could do it the best. She says she wanted someone with fight, passion, and conviction to do the right thing but humble enough to remember that politicians work for all the people. She also wanted someone who could show her parents that the best decision they made was to come to America.

[Haley’s endorsement is a bit robotic and formulaic. No personal stories/anecdotes that make the endorsement more personal. Seems transactional.]

6:05: Shaw gets ready to introduce Haley as Haley and Rubio appear at the rally on the Marco Rubio buss.

6:00: At a Rubio campaign rally, former South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw says Rubio is a “man of faith” at a time when “this country desperately needs it.” Shaw led many a comeback while he was Spurrier’s signal-caller, but Trump’s lead over Rubio seems insurmountable at this point.

5:45: Bloomberg Poll: Trump Still Has Commanding Lead in South Carolina:

Donald Trump holds a 19-point lead over Ted Cruz among those likely to vote in Saturday’s South Carolina Republican primary, with Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush locked in a close race for third and John Kasich showing no signs of a surge.

5:30: Rubio’s team wants Cruz to apologize to Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC). Rubio communications director Alex Conant:

“Senator Cruz owes Trey Gowdy an apology. We can have honest policy disagreements, but instead Cruz campaign officials go on national TV and slander Trey Gowdy. To be clear: The Cruz campaign’s insults and accusations are nothing compared to the cases Trey Gowdy took on as a federal prosecutor. Today’s actions by Senator Cruz and those who speak for him are indicative of a campaign spiraling out-of-control in an all-out-effort to win at any costs, even if it means sacrificing the Senator’s integrity in the process. Voters will reject Senator Cruz’s campaign of personal insults, deceptions, push polls, and ads so misleading they can’t be aired.”

5:25: Trump to South Carolinians: Tell Gov. Haley You Don’t Want Syrian Refugees.

Trump says South Carolina has “a lot” of refugees and “you oughta tell your governor, ‘don’t let ’em move to South Carolina. You don’t want ’em in South Carolina.'” Trump says “we don’t know where they come from” and Gulf States should do more to fund refugee programs.

5:21: Trump’s message for Jeb!

Donald Trump's latest message to Jeb Bush: "Go home. Go home to Mom. Go home to Mommy." — Jenna Johnson (@wpjenna) February 17, 2016

5:17: Frustrated Jeb!: ‘I Should Stop Campaigning Maybe’

5:10: In Walterboro, South Carolina, Trump again emphasizes that he is self-funding his campaign and won’t be beholden to pharmaceutical companies. He also says he is the “most conservative” on the border and on “taking care of the vets.” He says he is the “most conservative” on Common Core and the Second Amendment.

5:02: Cruz overtakes Trump in NBC/Wall Street Journal’s national poll:

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has fallen behind Ted Cruz in the national GOP horserace, according to a brand-new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. In the poll, Cruz is the first choice of 28 percent of Republican primary voters, while Trump gets 26 percent. They’re followed by Marco Rubio at 17 percent, John Kasich at 11 percent, Ben Carson at 10 percent and Jeb Bush at 4 percent.

5:00: There he goes again. Kristol predicted that Trump would run behind Ron Paul’s 2012 campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire. But Ron Paul (82, 908) received more votes in Iowa and New Hampshire in 2012 than Rubio (73, 197) did in 2016.

Sticking with my prediction: Trump will win no caucuses or primaries, and will run behind Ron Paul 2012 in IA and NH. — Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) December 8, 2015

One last time–don’t they say 12th time is the charm? And this time I mean it…#PeakTrump! — Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 17, 2016

4:45: Drone stalled Hillary’s entrance to her Chicago rally:

Drone delays Hillary Clinton entrance to rally: https://t.co/amosDtZxfK pic.twitter.com/jZrQdOjZW6 — ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) February 17, 2016

4:43: Trump says “secret papers” may show that the Saudis knocked down the Twin Towers.

4:40: From CBS: Sanders met with Chair of the DNC’s black caucus:

As he seeks to make inroads with the African-American community, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders quietly met with a small group of about 50 prominent African-American community leaders in Michigan this week. After speaking to two boisterous campaign rallies in the state Monday, Sanders made an unannounced visit at the Detroit home of Virgie Rollins, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee’s black caucus. Michigan holds its primary on March 8, a week after Super Tuesday.

4:28: Matt Moore, the Chairman of the South Carolina GOP, says on MSNBC that Haley’s endorsement “could change the race” in South Carolina. But he concedes that Trump is leading in every poll and the real race is likely for second place. He says this is a “race like you’ve never seen.”

He says the Bush family is still very well-liked in South Carolina but “politics are very fickle” and South Carolinians are “picky prom dates.” Moore is doing his best to be diplomatic.

4:25: Does Biden regret not running?

Rachel Maddow interview with Vice President Joe Biden airs Thursday, at the special time of 8pm ET https://t.co/kb3P5UpSv9 — Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) February 17, 2016

4:20: New Cruz ad slams Rubio for his hypocritical flip flop on amnesty:

4:08: Former NAACP president and Sanders supporters Ben Jealous is arguing that “every part” of Sanders’s platform helps black Americans.

4:05: The SPLC, which manufactures hate for profit and fun, in action:

SPLC features Donald Trump on cover of annual census of hate groups and other extremist organizations. pic.twitter.com/CzKTmYuxjN — Micah Grimes (@MicahGrimes) February 17, 2016

4:03: Flashback: Hillary dabs on Ellen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO5u-obPQGM

4:02: Jeb!, who rooted for the Denver Broncos because Peyton Manning donated to him, dabs:

Jeb Bush does "the dab" dance a la Cam Newton…I may or may not have had to google that. pic.twitter.com/TJsRDu93su — Ashley Killough (@KilloughCNN) February 17, 2016

3:50: GOP Establishment panicking, worried that they are running out of time to stop Trump.

3:42: Matt Boyle from South Carolina:

COLUMBIA, South Carolina — The campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) issued a blistering rebuke at Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the establishment-backed non-conservative frontrunner here in South Carolina, after it has come to light Rubio repeatedly skipped vote after vote after vote on important bills related to national security and defense policy.

3:40: John Nolte on Trump’s Colbert appearance

The left-wing extremists at Salon are worried about Donald Trump. Unlike pretty much every other Republican ever created, the Late Night crowd can’t lay a glove on The Donald. Moreover, Trump is unafraid to enter that realm because he knows he can beat them at their own game. The left-wing cabal that makes up our Comedian Class have finally bumped into a Republican they cannot damage. Leftists like those at Salon understand how crucial a political weapon this is, and not having it in 2016 is a major liability.

3:38: Staging for one of Trump’s campaign events today in South Carolina:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BB5luairGf4/

3:33: Jeb! “disappointed” that Haley endorsed Rubio:

Jeb Bush, who campaigned for Gov Haley in 2014, says he's disappointed she's not endorsing him…says she's a great servant. — JR Berry WLTX 🇺🇸 (@JRBerryWLTX) February 17, 2016

3:30: Interesting Tweet re: Rubio’s controlled appearances:

Marco Rubio has done four SC town halls without ever giving the microphone to voters. Jeb Bush is on his sixth question in Summerville, SC. — Matt Viser (@mviser) February 17, 2016

3:25: US News & World Report: All dynasties must end, and it could be true for the Bush family in South Carolina.

3:23: John Kasich won’t be in South Carolina on primary day. He’ll be in Massachusetts.

3:18: More email headaches for Hillary:

One of the classified email chains discovered on Hillary Clinton’s personal unsecured server discussed an Afghan national’s ties to the CIA and a report that he was on the agency’s payroll, a U.S. government official with knowledge of the document told Fox News. The discussion of a foreign national working with the U.S. government raises security implications – an executive order signed by President Obama said unauthorized disclosures are “presumed to cause damage to the national security.”

3:15: USA Today/Suffolk Poll: Trump Beats Clinton in Potential General Election Matchup:

• Clinton loses by 2 points to Trump (43%-45%)

3:10: Team Jeb! had been working hard to get Haley’s endorsement:

The ad @realDonaldTrump​ wants me to pull. We’re running it more frequently because you deserve to know the truth.https://t.co/pEaLCsbr1X — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 17, 2016

3:00: Bernie Sanders supporters are launching their very own dating site.

Supporters of the Democratic presidential candidate who are hoping to “Feel the Bern” of love can head over to BernieSingles.com. “Do you love Bernie? Do you need a lover?” the dating site asks.

Gloria Steinem said young women were supporting Bernie Sanders because “the boys are with Bernie.” Model Emily Ratajkowski shot back at Steinem while introducing Sanders at a campaign event in New Hampshire, saying, “I’m not here for the boys.” The site may give new meaning to “feel the bern.”

2:57: Al Sharpton has met with Sanders and Clinton, but he is not ready to endorse yet:

“I have not decided who I will support for president,” he said, according to the New York Post. “I think we are in the midst of a process, and that process has to be detailed policy and that process has to include collective gathering.”

2:55: Vermont’s black leaders are slamming Sanders for ignoring them:

Back in 2006, the Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity, a Brattleboro area civil rights organization hosted a Candidate Night. The race for the open U.S. Senate seat between Bernie Sanders and Richard Tarrant, a Republican and one of the wealthiest people in the state, had grown increasingly acrimonious. The audience of African-American activists and other Vermonters of color should have been a friendly one for the socialist congressman. Instead, remembers Curtiss Reed Jr., the executive director of the group, it became something of a showdown. Sanders “was just really dismissive of anything that had to do with race and racism, saying that they didn’t have anything to do with the issues of income inequality,” Reed told The Daily Beast.

2:52: Trump mocks Bush’s image makeover:

Jeb Bush just got contact lenses and got rid of the glasses. He wants to look cool, but it's far too late. 1% in Nevada! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2016

2:50: Jeb seems frustrated on the campaign trail.

Lindsey Graham at Jeb event: "How many of you believe George W Bush was not responsible for 9/11? (hands go up) Yay, you all passed!" — Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) February 17, 2016

Jeb: "Hard for me to be lectured to by a gifted young guy who thinks…going to a cmte hearing means you know something about the world:" — Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) February 17, 2016

It was physically painful to watch Bush talking about how he's being drummed out of race just now. Can feel the frustration. — Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) February 17, 2016

2:45: Haley will reportedly formally endorse Rubio at his campaign event this evening and will hit the campaign trail with him in the remaining days.

2:40 pm: Tony Lee: In 2012, Haley endorsed Mitt Romney, who lost South Carolina to Newt Gingrich. It is also worth nothing that Haley, who had been mired in middle of the pack for much of her 2010 gubernatorial primary campaign, would never have won the primary and the general election had it not been for Sarah Palin’s endorsement. In fact, it can be argued that a lot of the bad blood between the professional conservatives and the grassroots started in 2010 when the professional D.C. conservatives realized how little influence they actually had compared to politicians like Palin who resonated with conservative voters.

2:37 pm: Tony Lee: After her GOP-loathing response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, Haley came under considerable fire, especially for her comments about resisting the “siren call” of the angriest voices. While defending her State of the Union response, Haley said she had “disagreements with other presidential candidates” and mentioned that “Marco Rubio believes in amnesty, which I don’t. There’s lots of things.”

Haley later walked back those remarks, saying that “it’s been a long couple of days. What I said was that I didn’t agree with him. I meant what I didn’t agree with him was on the Gang of Eight bill. I said that he wasn’t for amnesty. That’s not what I meant. What I meant was that he supported the Gang of Eight bill and I did not.”

2:35 pm: Ann Coulter blasts Haley’s Rubio endorsement:

Hey South Carolina! The woman who ripped down your Confederate symbols & demands no pause in Muslim immigration just endorsed Mario Rubio. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 17, 2016

2:25 pm – Jeb, right after Haley’s endorsement of Rubio, focuses fire on the junior Senator:

“Marco Rubio’s my friend,” Jeb Bush says. “He said that I don’t have foreign policy experience. Let’s do a little comparing and contrasting" — Matt Viser (@mviser) February 17, 2016

Jeb Bush refers to Rubio as a "young man" with great potential here in Summerville, SC pic.twitter.com/F5K2v6Xd8V — MJ Lee (@mj_lee) February 17, 2016

.@JebBush defends foreign policy record, cites trips to Iraq, Afghanistan while Fla. governor as well as work w/ bases incl. CENTCOM, SOCOM — Felicia Schwartz (@felschwartz) February 17, 2016

2:21 pm – Cruz campaigning hard on Trump’s cease-and-desist.

The ad @realDonaldTrump​ wants me to pull. We’re running it more frequently because you deserve to know the truth.https://t.co/pEaLCsbr1X — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 17, 2016

2:17 pm – Jeb Bush’s thoughts on Nikki Haley’s endorsement–and what it means if he didn’t get it.

2:15 pm – Lindsey Graham introducing Jeb at South Carolina rally.

2:12 pm – Hillary embraces the “Hillarycare” moniker of her doomed 1990s healthcare proposals. She says she “took on” the big drug companies with that effort.

2:01 pm – Hillary slams Republicans on Scalia’s SCOTUS replacement. Says Obama and the Senate have an “obligation” to nominate and act on the nomination.

1:57 pm – “No bank is too big to fail, and no executive is too big to jail!” –Hillary

1:56 pm – Slight cough from Hillary in Chicago.

1:52 pm – Nikki Haley will endorse Rubio. Terry Branstad’s endorsement did not lead to a Trump win in Iowa; will Haley break that streak?

1:50 pm – Hillary says that she will spend effort every single day as president to fight for gun control.

1:48 pm – Hillary just said that Charleston shooter Dylann Roof bought his gun through a “loophole” — that after 3 days, he got to get his gun without a background check.

1:46 pm – Orrin Hatch weighs in on the Cruz natural born citizen controversy:

Hatch: "Natural born citizen" claim against Cruz an uphill battle, but "the Supreme Court may not agree with me; they may decide otherwise." — Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) February 17, 2016

https://twitter.com/NolteNC/status/700028611538067457

1:43 pm – Hillary goes hard on Black Lives Matter narrative in Chicago speech: name drops Sandra Bland, Laquan McDonald, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice.

1:42 pm – National Review says that Raul Labrador from the Freedom Caucus will endorse Cruz.

1:38 pm – The Hill has a quick snipe at the handouts from Cruz’s press conference:

Cruz misspells names of Dems he says Trump supported: https://t.co/Ac8iLOcXS5 pic.twitter.com/JZFvtbsHkf — The Hill (@thehill) February 17, 2016

1:36 pm – Geneva Reed-Veal, Sandra Bland’s mother, introducing Clinton: says she “kept her poise” through the “stress” of Benghazi and her email investigation. More important issue: the so-called gender pay gap.

1:34 pm – Hillary Clinton’s Chicago event begins now, with Hillary taking the stage to Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song.”

1:33 pm – Rep. Pete King has a colorful metaphor for the Cruz-Trump rivalry:

YIKES. Rep. Pete King tells @wolfblitzer Cruz & Trump are like: "two tarantulas in a bottle" #Wolf — Marlena Militana (@MarlenaTV) February 17, 2016

1:26 pm – New USA Today/Suffolk University poll has Hillary over Sanders, 50-40, but that ten-point gap was a 27-point one just two months ago. The Republican field is Trump 35%, Cruz 20%, Rubio 17%, and all the rest in single digits.

1:17 pm – Trump responds to Cruz’s lawsuit taunt–with a diminutive nickname.

"Time will tell, Teddy," says Trump on a potential Cruz birther lawsuit — Jane C. Timm (@janestreet) February 17, 2016

Trump response to Cruz: "Time will tell, Teddy" ===> pic.twitter.com/sUSuacaiil — Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) February 17, 2016

1:15 pm – Hillary Clinton will soon speak in Chicago, courting black voters with an appearance by Sandra Bland’s mother. Lana Shadwick reports for Breitbart News:

Hillary Clinton is in Chicago on Wednesday to court the minority vote and use the suicide of a young black woman in a Texas jail to do so. The mother of Sandra Bland is expected to join her at the rally in a Bronzeville, Illinois, neighborhood.

1:08 pm – Trump says Republicans lost in 2012 because Mitt Romney chose Pa