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January 25, 2016

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Trump confident of support in shooting

Donald Trump is so confident about the loyalty of his supporters that he has predicted they would stick with him even if he shot someone.

The Republican presidential front-runner bashed conservative commentator Glenn Beck鈥檚 support of rival Ted Cruz and welcomed a figure from the Republican establishment, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, in rallies nine days before the Iowa caucuses open voting in the 2016 campaign.

鈥淚 could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn鈥檛 lose any voters, OK?鈥 Trump told an enthusiastic audience at a Christian school on Saturday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like incredible.鈥

Beck campaigned for Cruz and held little back in going after Trump. 鈥淭he time for silliness and reality show tactics has passed,鈥 Beck charged at a Cruz rally. He warned that a Trump victory in the February 1 caucuses could have lasting consequences: 鈥淚f Donald Trump wins, it鈥檚 going to be a snowball to hell.鈥

Trump demonstrated the extent to which some in the Republican establishment have begun to accept a potential Trump nomination when Grassley introduced him at a later event in Pella.

Grassley did not offer an endorsement, but his presence underscored Trump鈥檚 enduring status at the top of the polls as voting approaches. Alex Conant, speaking for Marco Rubio鈥檚 campaign, was quick to note that Grassley will introduce Rubio at an Iowa rally in a week.

Days after Trump was endorsed by tea party favorite Sarah Palin, Cruz flashed his own conservative muscle during a rally in Ankeny, Iowa. Representative Steve King, an Iowa Republican and conservative firebrand, and Iowa social conservative leader Bob Vander Plaats encouraged local Republicans to unite behind Cruz.

At his Sioux Center event, Trump called Beck a 鈥渓oser鈥 and 鈥渟ad sack.鈥 Beck was one of nearly two dozen conservative thinkers who penned anti-Trump essays for National Review magazine 鈥 a hit Trump referred to repeatedly at the rally.

Cruz, running close with Trump in Iowa polls, was almost entirely focused on the billionaire in his Ankeny event, as he professed core conservative values.


 

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