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Trump warns Republicans: pick me or there will be riots

Donald Trump says he’s the inevitable Republican presidential nominee and has warned if party leaders deny him the nomination, “You’d have riots.”

Mar 17, 2016, updated Mar 17, 2016
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Photo: AP/Seth Perlman

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Photo: AP/Seth Perlman

The brash billionaire, who won at least three more states on Tuesday but doesn’t yet have the needed majority of delegates, predicted on Wednesday he’d collect enough support before the Republican convention this summer.

Many party leaders are concerned by his comments against Muslims, immigrants and women and the violence at some of his rallies.

Democrat Hillary Clinton, who moved closer to becoming the first woman in US history to win a major party nomination after winning at least four states Tuesday, took direct aim at Trump.

“Our commander-in-chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it,” Clinton said in a speech that largely ignored rival Bernie Sanders.

With anti-Trump Republicans frantically seeking scenarios to deny him the party nomination, Trump told morning TV shows the party establishment already was starting to support him.

Without naming names, Trump said some Republican senators who are publicly critical of him have called privately to say they want to “become involved” in his campaign.

Trump added Clinton doesn’t have the “strength or stamina” to be president, while a new ad posted on his official Instagram account includes footage of Clinton barking like a dog.

The footage from earlier this year was of her barking to mimic an ad she’d been describing to supporters.

The Republican front-runner said he’d skip a debate scheduled for Monday, saying, “I think we’ve had enough debates.”

The debate was cancelled after Ohio Governor John Kasich said he also would not attend.

Trump won Tuesday in Florida, North Carolina, and Illinois but fell in Ohio to Kasich.

Clinton triumphed in the Florida, Illinois, Ohio and North Carolina primaries.

Votes were also being counted in Missouri, though races in both parties there were too close to call.

Florida senator Marco Rubio dropped out Tuesday after losing his home state to Trump.

With more than half the delegates awarded through six weeks of primary voting, Trump, who has 621 delegates, is the only Republican candidate with a realistic path to the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination through the traditional route.

On the Democratic side, Clinton’s victories were blows to Sanders and bolstered her argument that she’s the best Democrat to take on the eventual Republican nominee.

Clinton has at least 1,561 delegates of the 2,383 needed, including the superdelegates who are elected officials and party leaders free to support the candidate of their choice.

AP

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