MILWAUKEE: Donald Trump on Sunday called for John Kasich to drop out of the Republican presidential race, arguing that the Ohio governor shouldn’t be allowed to continue accumulating delegates if he has no chance of becoming the nominee.
Working to recover his edge after a difficult week, Trump said it wasn’t fair for Kasich, who has won only his home state, to continue his campaign. He suggested instead that Kasich, who has pledged to make it to the summer convention, follow the example of Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush — candidates who quit after lagging behind.
“He doesn’t have to run and take my votes,” he said.
Trump said Kasich could ask to be considered at the GOP convention in Cleveland in July even without competing in the remaining nominating contests. He added that he had relayed his concerns to Republican National Committee officials at a meeting in Washington this past week.
“I said, ‘Why is a guy allowed to run?’ All he’s doing is just he goes from place to place and loses,” Trump told reporters at Miss Katie’s Diner in Milwaukee, where he stopped for breakfast. The state holds its presidential primaries Tuesday.
Kasich’s campaign tried to flip the script, contending that neither Trump nor Texas Sen. Ted Cruz would have enough delegates to win the nomination outright going into the Cleveland.
“Since he thinks it’s such a good idea, we look forward to Trump dropping out before the convention,” said Kasich spokesman Chris Schrimpf.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton told NBC’s Meet the Press that she had yet to receive a request from the FBI for an interview regarding the private email system she used as secretary of state. And during a series of stops at Brooklyn church services, she got in a dig at her Democratic opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has identified as an independent for most of his career.
“I know we have to have a Democrat succeed Barack Obama,” Clinton said.
Clinton and Sanders announced they’d agreed to a debate in New York before the consequential April 19 primary, though the timing remained unclear.
In Egypt, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham sought to reassure the Arab world over the prospect of Trump becoming president, saying in Cairo that Congress would continue to play a primary role in foreign policy.
“The Congress is going to be around no matter who is president,” Graham said after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi.