Trump hits out at Clinton and Cruz ahead of election

WASHINGTON, Sunday

Donald Trump hit out hard at Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz today, sounding unapologetic two days ahead of a key primary in Indiana he says will decide the Republican presidential race.

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, the Republican frontrunner concentrated on attacking Mrs Clinton, doubling down on his much-criticised statement that the likely Democratic nominee’s only appeal to voters is the “woman’s card.”

“She’s done a lousy job in so many ways and even women don’t like her,” he said. “But it is the woman’s card and she plays it and I will let you know in about six months whether or not she plays it well, but I don’t think she’ll play it well.”

“If she were not a woman she wouldn’t even be in this race,” he added.

The real-estate billionaire also targeted Mr Cruz, dismissing his closest Republican rival’s criticism of Mr Trump’s endorsement by former boxing champion Mike Tyson, whom Mr Cruz called a rapist.

“No big deal, I didn’t have a meeting or anything, I haven’t seen Mike in years,” Mr Trump said.

“This guy is a real liar,” he added of Mr Cruz. “That’s why we call him lyin’ Ted Cruz.”

Trump dismissed Mr Cruz’s endorsement by Indiana Governor Mike Pence this week, calling it “the weakest endorsement anyone has seen in a long time.” “I think he gave me more of an endorsement than he gave Cruz,” he added.

Asked whether a victory in Indiana on Tuesday would clinch the nomination for him, Mr Trump said, “Yes, it’s over,” adding, “I think it’s over now.”

INDIANA POLL

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll released on Sunday gave Mr Trump a 15-point lead in Indiana.

Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators jostled with police in riot gear outside a California hotel where Mr Trump gave a speech, forcing the candidate to duck into a back entrance.

At one point, several dozen protesters broke through barricades and attempted to storm the hotel where the California Republican Party Convention was taking place on Friday, but police, some wielding batons, were able to push them back.

The demonstrators waved banners that read “No hate, no racism, no Trump,” “We need a uniter, not a divider” and “Trump is the modern day Hitler.” Several carried Mexican flags.

The tense stand-off at the Hyatt Regency near the San Francisco International Airport forced the Republican front-runner and his security detail to abandon his motorcade on a nearby highway, hop over a barrier and use a back entrance to the hotel.

“That was not the easiest entrance I’ve ever made,” he told the party members at the convention. “It felt like I was crossing the border.”

California, which holds its presidential primaries on June 7, is crucial in Mr Trump’s push to secure the number of delegates needed to win the Republican presidential nomination outright.

After delivering his speech without incident, Mr Trump was again escorted out the back entrance.

A crowd of those attending the convention watched live footage of Trump leaving the hotel, and cheered when he entered his vehicle away from the protesters, the Los Angeles Times reported.