Tuesday was definitely super for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. With voters in 13 states and one U.S. territory making their presidential picks on “Super Tuesday,” both candidates earned resounding victories and tightened their grips on the Republican and Democratic nominations.
While Trump — who scored lopsided victories in Massachusetts, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, and won closer contests in Arkansas and Virginia — flourished in the South and New England on Tuesday, his main rivals, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, both failed to keep pace. Cruz won his home state of Texas and neighboring Oklahoma — bolstering his case as the only challenger with a chance to stop Trump — while Rubio had to settle for a victory in Minnesota, his first win in the primary season.
“Instead of building walls, we’re going to break down barriers.” – Hillary Clinton
Clinton won big victories across the South in Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia and Virginia, along with Massachusetts – which Sanders had been counting on. Senator Bernie Sanders resoundingly won his home state of Vermont and also prevailed in Oklahoma, Minnesota and Colorado.
Now the clear frontrunners to their parties’ nominations, Trump and Clinton clashed over their immigration policies and their vision for America’s future in their victory speeches.
“I am a unifier. I would love to see the Republican Party and everybody get together and unify. And there is no one who is going to beat us” – Donald Trump
In her statements, Clinton mocked Trump’s controversial proposal for a southern border wall (“Instead of building walls, we’re going to break down barriers.”) while adding her support for immigrants. “We can break down barriers for hard-working immigrants everywhere who are too often exploited and intimidated,” she said. Clinton also appeared to be prepping for a national campaign against Trump, adding, “We don’t need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great.”
Trump mixed his controversial, combative approach (“We have to rebuild our country. Our country is going to hell…and Hillary Clinton doesn’t have a clue.”) with a broader, almost statesman-like message: ”I am a unifier. I would love to see the Republican Party and everybody get together and unify. And there is no one who is going to beat us,” said Trump.
