Donald
Trump took another step toward clinching the Republican presidential
nomination Tuesday, easily sweeping Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware,
Rhode Island and Connecticut in the latest round of GOP primaries.
But
Trump’s victories, while commanding, did not bring an end to the
Republican contest. Though the real estate mogul and former reality
television star was expected to take home the majority of the 172
delegates at stake in Tuesday’s voting, adding to his already sizable
lead, Pennsylvania’s delegate rules stopped Trump from making a clean
sweep.
While
Trump won Pennsylvania’s statewide vote, clinching 17 of the state’s 71
delegates, another 54 were officially “unbound,” meaning they can make
their own decision about which candidate to support at the party’s
convention in July in Cleveland. That technicality gave a glimmer of
hope to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who are trying
to stop Trump from getting the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the GOP
nomination before the convention.
The
candidate declined to go into specifics of what exactly he would talk
about Wednesday. But he did reject the idea that he will tone down his
rhetoric — pushing back on his convention manager Paul Manafort’s
comments to members of the Republican National Committee last week that
suggested Trump is merely playing “a part” and would embrace a more
“presidential” tone in the coming weeks.
“I
am me. I am not playing a part,” Trump said Tuesday night, adding that
he had received dozens of messages from supporters saying, “Please don’t
change, please don’t change.” “If you have a football team, and you are
winning… Why would I change?” he said.
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