Free Republic

What made this response all the more baffling is that Trump was clearly hoping to pull off just the kind of debate that transpired. He was more subdued, less outlandish, and far, far nicer than he has appeared in any previous debate. He was boring. His opening and closing statements sounded — unusually for him — as though he had practiced them. He appealed to party unity. He sought to rise above his competitors not by belittling them, as usual, but through magnanimity. In reality, Trump is the same uninformed clown he always has been. His response on every question...

... "I can see the bumper sticker now: “Vote Trump – Because there are jobs Americans won’t do.” Cruz and Rubio finally landed some blows against Trump in this debate; Rubio’s mockery was especially amusing (and unnerving for Trump), though my man Cruz’s attacks were more serious and grounded. But at this late date, the hits Trump took on his (lack of a) health care plan, tax returns, even Trump University, might not make any difference. But the whole point of his candidacy is that he’s a nationalist, that his first concern is for America and Americans; his (obviously unread)...

Now that Donald Trump has won three primaries by convincing margins, there are at least some cracks in the wall of opposition to his candidacy within some segments of the Republican Party establishment. As Trump racks up delegates and makes it more difficult for the four remaining challengers to catch him in the race for delegates, some major GOP donors are questioning the purpose and efficacy of efforts to derail Trump’s candidacy. Bob Grand, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis, was a financial supporter and bundler for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. He hasn’t yet decided if he’s...

You can't build a real estate empire unless government helps you snatch private property, or so says Donald Trump, who routinely defends eminent domain as an inevitable business reality. Maybe he needs broader business experience. In Saturday's Republican debate, Mr. Trump fielded a question about eminent domain and had a ready answer. "You need eminent domain," Mr. Trump said. "A lot of the big conservatives that tell me how conservative they are," they "all want the Keystone Pipeline. The Keystone Pipeline, without eminent domain, it wouldn't go 10 feet, OK?" Not OK, or accurate. In the decade since TransCanada proposed...

U.S. officials say the United States and Cuba will sign an agreement next week to restart commercial air traffic for the first time in five decades. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx flies to Havana on Tuesday to cement the deal. It will let U.S. airlines bid on routes for dozens of U.S.-Cuba flights per day. That's more than five times the current number of flights, all of which are charters. ...

Even though it's a stance not especially popular with some Republicans, Donald Trump continued to support eminent domain in an interview on Tuesday, calling it "a wonderful thing" that has unfairly received a bad rap.Trump, a billionaire known for his major real estate development projects, described eminent domain as a useful tool that local governments can use to prevent greedy homeowners from derailing major projects that could create thousands of jobs or provide a public good. Trump said that some conservatives don't fully understand how eminent domain works and don't realize that homeowners are usually paid "four, five, six, ten...

“Claims that trade deals increase exports and create jobs are based on flawed trade models, and on distorted and one-sided interpretations of the findings of those models,” Scott explained. “If you’re president, you’re going to have to live with it,” Pelley said to the billionaire businessman during the interview, referencing NAFTA. Trump fired back: “Excuse me, we will either renegotiate it or we will break it. Because, you know, every agreement has an end.” Pelley said Trump can’t just break the law. “Excuse me, every agreement has an end. Every agreement has to be fair,” Trump reiterated. “Every agreement has...

Donald Trump couldn't resist the opportunity on Thursday to knock businesswoman Carly Fiorina during a campaign stop in New Hampshire. "I thought I'd wait a couple of days before I expose her business failure," Trump said. "But honestly, it's so ridiculous." But Halyna Sorensen's question during a town hall-style event that drew 3,000 people was too perfect for Trump to turn down, sending Trump spiraling into the latest iteration of his criticism of Fiorina's controversial business record -- not just at Hewlett-Packard, but at a lesser-known technology company called Lucent. Sorensen, 66, was a Lucent employee when Fiorina took over...