***Horse Race LiveWire*** Ryan: I Don’t Want, Won’t Accept Nomination; Jeb!, Top GOPers to Skip Convention

The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Breitbart News

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

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All times eastern.

10:03: Trump says he thinks he will get to 1,237 delegates. He says he will do really well in New York and California and says “this has been an amazing process.” He says he is spending his own money and politicians won’t do the right things for the American people because they are motivated by special interests and lobbyists. Trump says politicians are not stupid when they make bad deals that hurt Americans–he says they are just doing what their donors want them to do. He says the country has been great to him and he wants to give back.

10:00: Trump says political life is “more dishonest” than pretty dishonest business people. But he says business people are “tougher” than politicians. And he says he will use some of the tough people to negotiate trade deals.

9:58: Trump says the key to success is to love what you are doing and never give up.

9:55: Trump tells questioner that his brother was a phenomenally handsome guy and he started drinking and it became a real problem. He says he always told him never to drink and smoke. Trump says his brother was one of his truly great teachers because he always said “don’t ever drink.” Trump says he owns the largest winery in the east coast but he has never had a drink. Trump says when his children were growing up, he would always tell his kids “no alcohol, no drugs, no cigarettes.” Trump says it’s a tough world to begin with but if you add alcohol or drugs, then it becomes really tough. Trump says if parents can keep their children away from alcohol or drugs, it’ll make life a lot easier. Ivanka and Don Jr. says that every morning their dad told them “no alcohol, no drugs, no cigarettes.”

9:53: Don Jr. says he finds it funny when politicians say they are serving the people when they are serving themselves. He says Trump’s campaign is resonating because he will serve the people.

9:48: Ivanka says converting to Judaism is “such a personal decision” that she doesn’t want to talk about it in a public forum. She says her dad was very supportive and points out that she doesn’t rush into things and appreciates the support that he gave him. She said it would have been much more hard if there had been headwinds.

9:41: Trump says he has picked up more than 100,000 followers over the weekend and he says social media is really an asset and enjoys doing it. He says “it is a powerful thing” and there is genius going on there. He would Tweet very limitedly as president, Trump says. But he says that social media allows him to criticize his opponents directly and it can break into all of the networks and drive the news cycle. He says “it is a modern method of communication.” Trump says the number of followers he has gives him a big advantage over other candidates. Trump says during the day, he shouts out stuff to his staff and they will sometimes Tweet what he wants. Trump says he himself always Tweets at night.

9:39: Melania says Barron is not on social media but has an iPhone. She points out that she grew up without social media and it was a lot better because she sees a lot of bullying going on on social media. Anderson asks Trump’s children if they monitor their dad’s social media. Laughter ensures. Eric says his dad is “so authentic” and doesn’t have a team writing his Tweets.

9:33: Questioner points out that the media have gone after Trump on women’s issues. Ivanka says that Trump has put female role models in top positions in an industry still dominated by men. She says Trump always taught her that there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do if she had deep passion and worked hard to achieve it. She says that is not a message a father would relay to a daughter who they didn’t think could accomplish the same things as her brothers. Ivanka says a lot of politicians talk the talk on gender issues but points out that Trump’s actions speak louder than words. Melania says Trump treats everyone equally

9:32: Questioner wonders if the campaign has put a strain on Ivanka’s friendship with Chelsea Clinton. “We’re children and we love our parents,” she says, adding that that is the “great equalizer.” She says Chelsea would probably say the same thing about her mother.

9:30: Ivanka says it’s easy to tell her dad to be nice but points out that that is easy to say when you are not in the arena. She says the debates have been like cage matches because Trump has been the frontrunner throughout the election cycle.

9:28: Questioner wonders if Trump talks to his wife and children in the same way he speaks at the GOP debates. Trump says he is much nicer to them. Trump says it has been an “interesting process” and says his family keeps  urging him to be nicer in the debates. Trump says he can’t when he is being attacked from all angles. Trump says he has to win first before he can be nice.

9:27: Tiffany Trump says her dad’s work ethic inspires her the most.

9:25: Eric Trump says he and his dad bond over building/machinery and golf. He says his dad is his best friend in the whole world. Trump says his relationship with his dad became a lot better after he graduated college. Trump says he wanted to be a baseball player and make movies but decided that real estate was the “right thing to do.”

9:23: First questioner asks Melania Trump if Barron is being raised differently than the other children. She says times are different. Melania says Trump is always on the road and she is staying at home raising him. Cooper wonders if Trump is a different dad to Barron, and he says he may appreciate it more. Trump says many people have said that his children have done a good job and they better keep doing a good job. Trump says he is honored that a lot of parents whose kids have various problems have asked him to talk to them.

9:20: Ivanka says she is an independent and their family is not a family of politicians. She said New York’s rules required them to register almost a year ago and they found out after the fact. She says that is why she started to make a series of videos informing people in various states because the rules can be “onerous.” Eric Trump says it was a “great educational process for us” and it motivated them to inform more people about the voting rules in the states.

9:19: Trump’s son Don Jr. says he may have made the decision to run this year because his kids are older and can manage his companies. He points out that Trump employs thousands of people and needs his companies to succeed to keep them employed.

9:18: Trump’s family joins him on stage. Ivanka says politics is a “vicious” industry–much more so than real estate.

9:13: “You don’t need two like me,” Trump says when asked what he is looking for in a potential vice president. He says he will select someone who will work with Congress.

9:12: Trump says he is giving around 10 policy speeches and will give one on unity. He will give a speech on the military and NATO.

9:10: Trump says Cruz has left town after not being received well in New  York and doesn’t think he will come back. Trump says the states that know him well like Florida are the ones where he performs the best.

9:09: Trump says a third-party run is something he really doesn’t want to do.

9:07: Cooper wonders how Trump can tout his management skills when he has had such a weak ground game. Trump cites victories in South Carolina, New Hampshire, and “the entire South.”

9:06: Trump says he thinks the RNC doesn’t want him to get the nomination. But he is not sure if it is actively working against him.

9:04: Cooper says Trump could have had a better organization on the ground, but Trump says he doesn’t think it would matter.

9:02: When Cooper asks Trump if he just got outplayed on the ground in Colorado, Trump says he doesn’t think so and says he is millions of votes ahead of Cruz. He says Colorado and Louisiana were “unfair” because of all of the “shenanigans.” Cooper presses Trump that these are the rules and he should  have known them. Trump says the rules are stacked against him.

8:55: Donald Trump and his family are getting ready to participate in CNN’s live town hall event.

7:05: Heidi Cruz tells Megyn Kelly that Trump’s Tweets didn’t impact her in the least.

“Well, one great thing about me, Megyn, is that I don’t tweet. So I had an ability to completely ignore it. I think we have a pattern of behavior here that when Donald Trump is falling behind. You know it’s interesting, the timing of that was right before Ted’s sweep, sweeping victory in Utah … But I will tell you I know why we are running this race and it’s not for Donald Trump — it is for the voters of this country and when you have a husband who is standing by you that is so strong and so unflappable it really gives me a lot of strength. So I really have to honestly say it didn’t impact me in the least.

6:50: Sanders visits Hyde Park:

5:25: Trump says the rules are no good when they don’t count your vote and you have to engage in dirty tricks to pick up delegates.

5:33: Dem. Party “error” in Colorado costs Sanders a delegate. Sanders campaign kept in dark:

Bernie Sanders won one more delegate in Colorado than first projected after the Colorado Democratic Party admitted this week that it misreported the March 1 caucus results from 10 precinct locations.

The party discovered the discrepancy a week after the caucus but did not correct the public record.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign discussed the error with state party officials last week, but the Sanders campaign apparently didn’t realize the issue until being informed Monday evening by The Denver Post.

5:22: Trump, talking about Clinton’s defense of Obama’s legacy, says nobody is going to vote for an Obama third term because he’s been a “disaster.”

5:20: Trump says his numbers right now are better than Reagan’s were at this point against Jimmy Carter. He says the last person Hillary wants to run against is him.

5:18: Reuters/Ipsos national poll: Sanders, Clinton tied. Trump ahead of Cruz by six points (41-35).

5:14: Trump says Jordan Spieth choked a little bit but he’s going to recover because he’s a great golfer. But Trump says Romney wasn’t able to recover and can’t after “choking like a dog” against Obama.

5:10: Trump now blasts Clinton on her cattle futures deal. He says Clinton is probably being protected and notes that  people who did five percent of what she did have had their lives destroyed.

5:09: Trump says he and Sanders agree on rigged trade deals but Trump can make deals that Sanders won’t be able to negotiate.

5:07: Trump says the RNC should be “ashamed of itself… for allowing this crap to happen” in Colorado because it has “nothing to do with democracy.”

5:05: Trump blasts the “rigged system” and says the establishment hates it that he  is self-funding his campaign. “I’m working for you,” he says.

5:01: Trump says the Utica region has lost more than half of its manufacturing jobs since 1990. “What the hell is going on?” Trump asks. “We’re going to bring it back.” He says New York state has lost three out of every four manufacturing jobs that existed since 1960.

5:00: In New York, Trump says there is a movement going on and it’s happening all over the country. He starts his speech by focusing on trade and negotiators who have no idea that they’re doing. He says “we’re going to turn it around and we’re going to turn it around quickly.”

4:45: The Observer, which is published by Trump’s son-in-law, endorses Trump:

Donald Trump is the father-in-law of the Observer’s publisher. That is not a reason to endorse him. Giving millions of disillusioned Americans a renewed sense of purpose and opportunity is.

Explaining the phenomenon that is propelling the Trump candidacy is easy, despite the nattering of the cognoscenti—the media elite, the professional political class and the people largely insulated or directly benefitting from the failures of the last seven years. Their opinions have become increasingly irrelevant. For in the 10 months since Mr. Trump’s campaign announcement, their “insights” have been uniformly wrong and their influence has dwindled.

The media and cultural elite’s inability to grasp the profound alienation, anger and disillusionment of millions of Americans has fueled Mr. Trump’s popularity. The media’s enthusiastic embrace of the Obama narrative—that America should be willing to accept a dimmer future—has blinded it to the appeal of the Trump candidacy, and of an alternative, more compelling narrative.

3:28: Ryan says he would encourage delegates to put in a rule so that only those who ran for president can be nominated.

3:27: When asked what he will say to people who have said that Ryan issued the same denials before becoming House Speaker, Ryan says “apples and oranges.” He says House Speaker is completely different from President of the United States.

3:25: Ryan also says that “not running does not mean I’m going to disappear.”

3:24: “I do not want nor will I accept the nomination of our party,” he says. “Count me out.” Ryan tells delegates that the nominee must be someone who actually ran for president and he should not be considered, “period. End of story.”

3:20: At the RNC, Paul Ryan says he returned from a trip to the Middle East and it is amazing how closely the rest of the world is following our politics. “I want to put this to rest once and for all,” he says, addressing rumors that he may want the GOP nomination at a contested convention.

3:05: Sanders surrogate rips Clinton for opposing driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants.

3:00: Scene at RNC before Ryan’s speech:

2:40: Zuckerberg takes veiled shot at Trump, criticizes “fearful voices calling for building walls.”

“I hear fearful voices calling for building walls and distancing people they label as others, for blocking free expression, for slowing immigration, reducing trade and, in some cases around the world, even cutting access to the internet,” he reportedly said.

2:30: CSPAN provides a Paul Ryan flashback:

2:18: Voters not enthusiastic about 2016 election, according to AP/GfK poll. But in such elections, the candidate whose supporters are more fervent wins (see: George W. Bush vs. John Kerry).

2:17: Cruz says Trump would have to fire himself if he were a contestant on The Apprentice:

2:15: Clinton campaign coordinating attack on Sanders, framing him as someone who will wilt under the klieg lights:

 

2:10: Sanders again questioning Clinton’s judgment:

2:05: Trump may do well in non-white districts in New York based on how he did in non-white wards in Chicago:

2:00: Jeb! reportedly will NOT attend GOP convention. Top Republicans up for reelection probably won’t attend either.

1:58: Before Ryan is set to deliver an address in which he will definitely rule out a 2016 run, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) said that a Ryan nomination is the one thing that can “completely destroy the party.” 

1:57: On CNN, Clinton Press Secretary Brian Fallon suggested that Sanders is not ready for primetime. He said Sanders has not encountered the level of scrutiny he will in New York, where “every day is primetime.” Fallon said Sanders is “untested” and that is why New York Democrats will choose Clinton.

1:56: GOP donors giving Cruz a second look.

1:54: Clinton Library releases Trump documents:

1:50: Anti-Trump groups have spent absolutely nothing in New York.

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