March 6, 2016

"I think it's time for Marco to clean the deck. I really do. And I say that respectfully."

"I think Marco Rubio had a very, very bad night. And personally I'd call on him to drop out of the race. I think it's time now that he drop out of the race. I really think so. I think it's probably time.... You got to be able to win. He has not been able to win. And I think that it's time that he drops out,"

Said Donald Trump last night, after he won 2 of the 4 state contests yesterday, the other 2 of which were won by Ted Cruz.

By the way, the expression is "clear the deck," so if Trump said "clean the deck" on purpose, it kind of was disrespectful.

Swab the Deck

Anyway, Trump says he would "love to take on Ted one-on-one" and: "That would be so much fun. Because Ted can't win New York. He can't win New Jersey. He can't win Pennsylvania. He can't win California. I want Ted one-on-one, OK?"

Why did Trump call on Rubio to drop out of the race?
 
pollcode.com free polls

29 comments:

Laslo Spatula said...

It's a 3D poll: he could believe all three answers.

As far as the "cleaning the deck": I think it was a way to reference the aftermath of "foam parties."

Rubio, the Foam Party is over. Time to clean the deck and remove all the used condoms from the hot tub filter.

I am Laslo.

tim in vermont said...

When Marco made it legitimate for the NYT to put a story on their front page about penis size and the Republican nominees, and, as far as I am concerned, when Trump let himself be gulled into responding to it, they both disqualified themselves.

The headline for this comment might be "It was a misstep tailor made to delight left wing media."

Tank said...

He meant the cabana deck.

tim in vermont said...

Maybe if Rubio had a scar on his cheek.... "Say hello to his little friend!"

rhhardin said...

Mark Steyn, hosting Rush on April 29, 2011, compared Alan West with the vile ugliness of Trump.

Six minutes Real Audio.

Steyn has reversed position completely, taking into account the baleful effect of PC being the primary thing to beat today before anything else. That's more or less my position. You've got to beat the MSM as national editor before anything else can happen.

Interesting contrast. The Trump abhorers haven't made that turn with Steyn, a former Trump abhorer.

Mark said...

Whether Rubio officially stays in or drops out, many of the voters are treating him as effectively dropped out. Even if he officially stays in, they do not want to "waste" their vote and are going elsewhere. That's what happened with the Carson vote and for others.

tim in vermont said...

My Millennial daughter made me laugh with this joke about voting for Hillary because she's a woman. "I wouldn't eat a turd because it looked like a Tootsie Roll either."

We could both end up voting for Bernie. It might be the last time in our lives we vote for the same person.

rhhardin said...

A Trump-Cruz split leaves an open convention, so Jeb gets it.

SayAahh said...

Rubio crossed the Rubicon.

jr565 said...

Does Ted have a chance to win a lot of these winner take all states, though? Like Florida. If Rubio drops out it will likely go to trump. Cruz May in fact want to keep Rubio And kasich in at least till the win or lose their home states.
It may lead to a brokered convention, but I'm not sure if Ted can win otherwise.

Sydney said...

I honestly think that Trump is the only candidate who can beat Hillary. If any of the other Republican candidates get it, or if they manufacture a nomination for someone like Jeb or Romney, the country is toast. It is too easy for the MSM to make any other candidate distasteful to the public because no one knows them. People know Trump. He's been in the living rooms of the majority of the country for a very long time via his TV shows. More importantly, Trump knows the media. He's been to the same parties and worked with these people all of his adult life. That's why he's been so effective.
The people I know who hate Trump fall into two categories 1) Peope who would vote for Hillary or Bernie anyways and 2) People who follow Republican politics closely. i.e. insiders. The latter category is not large, but they've assessed the candidates and know who they like and why. You can not say this about the majority of general election voters.
If the Republicans successfully defeat Trump, we will have Hillary. And that is the worst thing that could happen to this country.

Roger Sweeny said...

Why did Trump call on Rubio to drop out of the race?

It's a way of planting the idea in people's minds that Rubio is a "loser." If he stays in, people will be less likely to vote for him. If he drops out, people will think it's because the "winner," the leader, Donald Trump pushed him.

Laslo Spatula said...

The latest Drudge headline photo is a Kill Shot.

Little man in a Big Chair.

I am Laslo.

Dude1394 said...

I am puzzled. Possibly trump wants to see how the republican apparatchik act if their guy is out of the race. Their are a lot of deep pockets backing Rubio still.

If Rubio is out and congress still hates Cruz, what happens.

Maybe he just feels that getting ganged up on is hurting him and taking some joy out of it. Possibly just trying to sow discontent before Florida.

He is beyond me on this one.

Anonymous said...

As far as Republican voters are concerned, Rubio is dead meat. His gang-of-eight immigration plan makes him and Bush indistinguishable. That and that alone, will knock him out. He can inherit all on Bush's 100 million and it will guarantee him all of Bush's popularity.ce

MaxedOutMama said...


Trump needs 1,237 delegates before the convention. It will be easier for him to get them if Rubio is no longer in the race. Sometimes a banana is just a banana.

bleh said...

Um, it's pretty obvious, isn't it? Ted's best states are behind him, and Marco's bets states are ahead of him, so of course Trump wants to go head to head with Ted. Simple as that.

Florida is the most important primary. After Florida we will see where things stand.

shiloh said...

Who is this Marco of which you speak?

Oh ~ Robo Rubio

But all is not lost for the Rep golden boy as party "establishment" wants him to drop out and run for his FL senate seat while he still has time.

Tom said...

Or a 3rd option is that Trump sees Cruz one on one as a easier path to the nomination. The 4 way race gets very complicated if Rubio wins Florida and Kasich wins Ohio or Michigan and Ohio. It's a good negotiating tactic.

DanTheMan said...

The Donald is running for President.
Either as the R nominee, or if a brokered convention gives it to somebody else, as an independent.
He's running. So the choice for the R's is:
Do you want to run Trump, or do you want to run against him and Hillary?

Birkel said...

Trump likely cannot win a brokered convention. So his every move is meant to avoid a brokered convention.

While Dan the Man imagines Trump attempting to thread the needle as an Independent, nobody believes he could win as an Independent. His only act then would be as spoiler. I do not think Trump would relish the spoiler role as a sure loser.

Big Mike said...

Your third option is obviously subsumed within the second option.

Rubio is welcome to stay in the race, but right now if one doesn't want Trump one must vote Cruz.

Big Mike said...

I looked up the filing deadline for Rubio's Senate seat. If he wants to hold it he only has until June 24th to decide whether to stay in the presidential primaries or quit and run for reelection.

Saint Croix said...

Stay in Marco. That's my gut feeling. But what do I know?

Pray on it, ask for guidance, follow your instincts, talk to your fellow Republicans. Drop out and support Cruz. Or stay in and trash the non-Republicans. Both of those options are fine, I think.

Saint Croix said...

Are there any more debates?

At this point, Marco Rubio could just wave his hands at Donnie and the man will freak out.

Saint Croix said...

I imagine Marco is staying in today, since Puerto Rico has 23 delegates up for grabs. No polling on the island! Marco has already grabbed 3 super-delegates. If he takes over 50%, he grabs all the delegates.

readering said...

AA you are missing the real answer. Trump is sincere in his request, but his reason is that he can't stand any criticism, and if Rubio gets out of the race that will be one fewer person criticizing him on a daily basis.

Humperdink said...

Why I can't stand Trump. He asks Rubio to quit the race and then ends with: "...And I say that respectfully".

Respectfully? Trump respectful? Trump could not spell the word.

Meade said...

I keep hearing people saying the problem with Ted Cruz is no one likes him. He has no friends in Washington D.C.

And I have to say, that might be the thing I like most about Ted Cruz. Who wants to have friends in Washington D.C.? I don't.