Biden-Trump rematch looks certain after pair dominate Super Tuesday votes
US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump swept to victory in statewide nomination contests on Tuesday, setting up a historic rematch in November’s election.
On a day traditionally dubbed Super Tuesday – when the most states choose who they think should be candidates – both virtually secured the nomination for their respective parties.
Republican Mr Trump won in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Minnesota and Virginia, brushing aside Nikki Haley.
Meanwhile, Mr Biden appeared to win easily in 14 states but faced a sizeable protest vote in Minnesota where he still won. He lost in the US territory of American Samoa.
Despite their clear victories, a rematch between Mr Trump, 77, and Mr Biden, 81 – the first repeat US presidential matchup since 1956 – is one few Americans seem to want, based on opinion polls.
Speaking to a crowd gathered at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, Mr Trump described the president as the “worst” the country has ever seen.
“There’s never been anything like what’s happening to our country,” he added, before wrongly adding 15 million people have crossed the southern border from Mexico to the US.
Donald Trump spoke to supporters as the scale of his victory became clear. Pic: Reuters
But Mr Biden warned his rival – who is facing a litany of criminal charges, including interference in the 2020 election – is “determined to destroy our democracy”.
“He is driven by grievance and grift, focused on his own revenge and retribution, not the American people,” he said.
“He is determined to destroy our democracy, rip away fundamental freedoms like the ability for women to make their own healthcare decisions, and pass another round of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy – and he’ll do or say anything to put himself in power.”
Read more:
What is Super Tuesday?
How does the US election work?
Joe Biden speaking earlier on Tuesday. Pic: Reuters
Ms Haley, Mr Trump’s last remaining Republican rival, appeared to suggest she will carry on campaigning despite now having no viable route to the nomination.
“In state after state, there remains a large block of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump,” her campaign team said, while highlighting her win in Vermont.
“That is not the unity our party needs for success. Addressing those voters’ concerns will make the Republican Party and America better.”
Immigration and the economy are leading concerns for voters in both parties, Edison exit polls in California, North Carolina and Virginia suggest.
A majority of Republican voters in those states said they backed deporting illegal immigrants, with Mr Trump promising to mount the largest deportation effort in US history if elected.
This year’s Super Tuesday has been dominated by two front-runners, which is unusual for a day that usually whittles down a pack to a few.
While Mr Trump and Mr Biden are almost certain to be the candidates, not enough states will have voted until later this month for either to formally become nominees.
Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈
Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
US
Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway