Free Republic

Poor Donald Trump. He really, really wants to leave behind his brash, vulgar, sexist and bigoted comments and be seen as presidential. Trump told reporters as much last week, noting how easily he can pivot to be more presidential. "I'm very capable of changing to anything I want to change to," he said. He also vowed to "never" use "foul language" again on the campaign trail. What has brought on this sudden change of heart? Apparently Trump, much like countless past presidential candidates before him, wants to begin pivoting from more partisan positions in the primary to more moderate ones...

MSNBC's choice to host Donald Trump in an exclusive town hall on Wednesday did not result in a ratings win against competitors CNN or Fox News. During the 8pm hour, when MSNBC's Trump town hall was up against CNN's GOP town hall (which kicked off with Ben Carson), it was actually Fox News that had the highest total viewers, with 2.3 million, despite the fact that "The O'Reilly Factor" was helmed by a guest host, Eric Bolling. MSNBC's Trump town hall had 1.4 million total viewers, while the first hour of CNN's three-part town hall had 2.05 million viewers. CNN...

A robocall recorded entirely in Spanish is blasting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for supporting "amnesty" for undocumented immigrants just two days out from the critical South Carolina presidential primary. The audio recording of the call was passed along to The Huffington Post by a resident of South Carolina who wished to remain anonymous. In the recording, a woman speaking in Spanish accuses Rubio, who on Wednesday picked up the coveted endorsement of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), of supporting "amnesty" in contrast to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is described in the call as opposing the idea. "Ted Cruz...

Donald Trump was so unhappy about the Cruz Campaign's "Supreme Trust" ad that he sent a "cease and desist" letter demanding that the Cruz campaign immediately stop running the ad featuring Trump currently running in South Carolina. During an epic press conference Sen. Ted Cruz rejected Trump's frivolous demands. In its response the Cruz campaign said the ad is not an attempt to mislead the public: The objective of the ad is precisely the opposite - to provide the voters of South Carolina with important and accurate information so that they can make an informed decision when they go to...

Simpsonville, S.C. -- At around 8:40 a.m. on Monday, the volunteers emerge from their rooms, line up against the walls, and put their hands on each other's shoulders to form a chain that runs the length of the hallway. Handmade signs line the walls. One reads: "Conservatives, Christians, and GRASSROOTS MATTER!" This is Value Place, an extended-stay hotel just off Interstate 385 in Simpsonville, S.C. Until the Palmetto State's primary concludes Saturday night, it is also Camp Cruz, home to those who have flocked here to volunteer their time for Ted Cruz's presidential campaign. Right now, they're packed three to...

CHAPIN, S.C. — Senator Marco Rubio received the endorsement Wednesday of South Carolina’s governor, Nikki R. Haley, a stamp of approval that could prove significant as his campaign tries to break out ahead in the state’s primary on Saturday. Mrs. Haley endorsed Mr. Rubio at an early evening rally in Chapin, S.C., saying, “If we elect Marco Rubio, every day will be a great day in America.” The endorsement puts the backing of one of the Republican Party’s rising stars behind Mr. Rubio, who has cultivated relationships with many of his party’s youngest leaders. Mr. Rubio’s campaign is oriented around...

It has become increasingly clear that the "self-funded" candidate in the Republican presidential primary, Donald J. Trump, will destroy the GOP's chances to win in November if he is not the nominee. Leftist groups are ecstatic over Trump’s "Bush lied, people died," mantra over the Iraq war. Internet trolls for Vladimir Putin are firmly behind Trump, saying he has the right recipe for accommodating Russia. ... How did this happen? Conservatives who should know better went beyond praising his attacks on political correctness to welcoming him as a legitimate conservative candidate for president. Last year, Matt Schlapp, the chairman of...

In the latest Quinnipiac University national survey of likely Republican voters, Trump jumps to 39 percent of the vote, up eight points from the beginning of the month. The Texas senator, meanwhile, saw his share of the vote drop four points to 18 percent. The big winner in the poll other than Trump is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio who held steady at 19 percent despite a setback in New Hampshire. With Cruz's slip, that was good enough to put Rubio in second place in this poll and for the first time the Real Clear Politics average of polls.

In what could arguably be seen as another debate debacle for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the Florida Senator seemed to confirm Phyllis Schlafly's assertion that he is "back to his old ways" of deceiving conservatives on immigration. In response to attacks leveled against him by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rubio made a demonstrably and provably false declaration about his position on President Obama's executive amnesty. Rubio even accused Cruz of "telling lies" about his position on executive amnesty- even though nationally-televised video footage of Marco Rubio confirms Cruz's allegation, and reveals that Rubio lied in front of a nation-wide viewing...

GOP presidential hopeful Marco Rubio on Monday said a controversial immigration reform bill he helped negotiate in 2013 was never meant to pass the Congress. As a member of the so-called "Gang of 8," the Florida senator negotiated an immigration compromise between Republicans and Democrats. But the bill never made it past conservatives in the House who complained it provided a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Rubio has taken criticism from fellow GOP presidential candidates for his role in the immigration package. On Monday, he suggested the bill was for show and he never expected House Republicans to go...

Marco Rubio Rumors Ramp Up MSM CHASING THE “MISTRESS BOMB …” BUT IS THERE MORE THAN ONE? Numerous national media outlets are pursuing multiple allegations of infidelity involving U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida – all in the aftermath of the “mistress bomb” report we published earlier this week. Specifically, three mainstream media outlets have independently supplied us with the names of two additional women said to be romantically linked to the GOP establishment’s candidate of choice. These names are in addition to the woman we referenced earlier this week – a lobbyist whose alleged proximity to Rubio was discovered...

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio is about to be rocked by a “mistress bomb,” multiple sources familiar with the allegation tell FITS. In fact we’re told this explosive rumor could detonate in wide circulation. “There is a decent chance you are about to see this picture all over the place,” one of our sources said, directing us to the corporate webpage of a female Washington, D.C. lobbyist. Details of the forthcoming scandal are not yet clear, although the allegation involving Rubio and the female lobbyist is reportedly being leaked to “multiple mainstream media outlets” this week. FITS showed the webpage we...

If Donald Trump is your drunk uncle at Thanksgiving then Ted Cruz is the charming sociopath your sister brings to Christmas. During a speech at the Rising Tide Summit in Iowa, the freshman senator from Texas whipped the crowd into a frenzy by suggesting President Barack Obama wasn't doing enough to defeat radical Islam. Cruz thinks he can do better. "We will utterly destroy ISIS," he said. "We will carpet bomb them into oblivion. I don't know if sand can glow in the dark, but we're going to find out." That's right, Ted Cruz just promised to nuke the Middle...

Sure, his rival won the first-in-the-nation nominating contest. And he didn't even come in second place. In fact, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) came in third, exactly where we predicted he would. But it's how Rubio came in third that makes all the difference. Polling indicated Rubio would be a distant third, trailing by perhaps double digits in the socially conservative state — an afterthought behind the two candidates expected to duke it out for first: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Donald Trump.

MARCO RUBIO FOR PRESIDENT: DETAILS OF FILING #1047126 COVERS OCT. 1, 2015 THROUGH DEC. 31, 2015 TOTAL RECEIPTS: $14,194,453 TOTAL SPENDING: $14,771,849 ENDING CASH: $10,398,593 ORIGINALLY FILED JAN. 31, 2016, 8:55 P.M.

The final Des Moines Register poll was just released, showing Donald Trump leading the Republican field in Iowa with 28 percent, Ted Cruz with 23 percent and Marco Rubio with 15 percent. Hillary Clinton was ahead of Bernie Sanders, 45 percent to 42 percent, on the Democratic side. The political world - us included - was eagerly awaiting this survey, as Ann Selzer, who has conducted the Register's polls since the 1988 caucuses, has a very good track record. But just how predictive of the final results have Selzer's polls been? History suggests they're a good indicator of what will...

At least 7,000 Cuban refugees are expected to come to the border in the next coming days. The activity at the Hidalgo International Bridge continues. For 40 years, Jose Angel Rodriguez has made his living driving a cab. He said he's seeing more Cubans crossing the port of entry. "They get here every night, in the morning, and at night they get here. They go to Laredo, too," Rodriguez said. Rodriguez remembered taking a few to a hotel or store. It gets busier each week that passes by. Down the road from the bridge were a handful of 15-passenger vans....

Cruz was at a loss for words: Oliver Darcy: @oliverdarcy - @TedCruz, following @glennbeck endorsement: "It is not often that I am speechless."

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HUDSON, N.H. — Ted Cruz on Tuesday went further than ever in needling Donald Trump, suggesting Democrats are behind the billionaire's questions about his citizenship. Speaking with reporters after a rally here, the U.S. senator from Texas was asked what he thought of Trump citing Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe's analysis that Cruz might be ineligible to be president. Trump has pounced on Cruz's Canadian birth to cast doubt on whether he is a natural-born citizen.“I will say it is more than a little strange to see Donald relying on as authoritative a liberal, left-wing, judicial activist Harvard law professor who is a...