memeorandum: Trump blames ‘lousy earpiece’ for David Duke uproar (Mark Hensch/The Hill)

10:45 AM ET, February 29, 2016

Top Items:

Ben Sasse / Facebook:

AN OPEN LETTER TO TRUMP SUPPORTERS — To my friends supporting Donald Trump: — The Trump coalition is broad and complicated, but I believe many Trump fans are well-meaning. I have spoken at length with many of you, both inside and outside Nebraska. You are rightly worried about our national direction.

Discussion: Guardian, Washington Post, Politico, Washington Times, Political Wire, Independent Journal Review, RedState, The Right Scoop and The Resurgent

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

The Republican Party's implosion over Donald Trump's candidacy has arrived — MADISON, Ala. — The implosion over Donald Trump's candidacy that Republicans had hoped to avoid arrived so virulently this weekend that many party leaders vowed never to back the billionaire and openly questioned whether …

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, NBC News, Balloon Juice, Yahoo Politics and Associated Press

Nick Gass / Politico:

Joe Scarborough: Trump's KKK ignorance ‘disqualifying’ — Donald Trump's failure to explicitly disavow the Ku Klux Klan and former Grand Wizard David Duke is “disqualifying,” Joe Scarborough declared on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” on Monday. — “It's breathtaking. That is disqualifying right there.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and New York Times

Nick Gass / Politico:

Trump blames ‘lousy earpiece’ for KKK flap — Donald Trump blamed CNN for providing a “lousy earpiece” in explaining his non-answer to the network on Sunday when asked to disavow the Ku Klux Klan and David Duke. — “I'm sitting in a house in Florida with a very bad earpiece that they gave me …

Discussion: ThinkProgressPage Array, The Week, Political Wire, Hot Air, Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, The Right Scoop and The Moderate Voice

Joe Scarborough / Washington Post:

Trump's feigned ignorance about the KKK raises disturbing questions — They weren't hard questions to answer. — “Do you condemn David Duke? And the Ku Klux Klan?” — A simple “yes” would have worked. But on Sunday, Donald Trump swatted away the easy answers and instead feigned ignorance …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Slate, CNN, The Hill, National Review, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller and Yahoo Politics

Nick Gass / Politico:

Huckabee: ‘Does anybody think Donald Trump is a racist?’ — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee defended Donald Trump on Monday, remarking that the GOP front-runner's apparent failure to disavow the Ku Klux Klan and David Duke in an interview the previous day did not reflect any “racist tendencies.”

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:

Spray tans, pants-wetting and little hands: The GOP race goes in the gutter — There's talk of bad spray tans, sweat and urination. Accusations that a rival has ties to the mob. They've called one another “little” or “a con artist.” And they all agree that the other guys are liars.

Discussion: ABC News, Outside the Beltway and Prairie Weather

Eun Kyung Kim / TODAY.com:

Donald Trump on KKK non-answer: A ‘very bad earpiece’ made it tough to hear — Donald Trump tells TODAY's Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie he's “disavowed” former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and blamed a “very bad earpiece” for his earlier inability to repeatedly repudiate the group.

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Business Insider, NPR, Raw Story and NBC News

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Trump blames ‘lousy earpiece’ for David Duke uproar

Discussion: Mediaite, The Week, RedState and Jezebel

New York Times: Christie Splits With His Past in Backing Trump

Kristen East / Politico:
Trump declines to condemn Ku Klux Klan

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Guardian, Washington Post, TIME, USA Today, Mashable, The Gateway Pundit, CBS New York, U.S. News, The Times of Israel, ABC News, Boing Boing, Political Insider blog, Mediaite, Patterico's Pontifications, Towleroad, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and The Atlantic

Joshua Green / Bloomberg Business:

Why Ted Cruz Probably Won't Drop Out, No Matter What — The Texas senator may be playing a long game. — JoshuaGreen — Ted Cruz has had a disappointing few weeks since winning the Iowa GOP caucuses. He was outshone by John Kasich in New Hampshire. Then he lost South Carolina to Donald Trump …

Discussion: Political Wire

CNN:

Trump, Clinton dominant as Super Tuesday looms — Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are poised to lead the nation's two major parties in this fall's presidential election — (CNN)Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are poised to lead the nation's two major parties in this fall's presidential election …

Discussion: Washington Post, BostonGlobe.com, Business Insider, Political Insider blog, CBS News, Washington Times, The Week and New York Times

Jose A. DelReal / Washington Post:
In major blow to Ted Cruz, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama endorses Donald Trump for GOP nomination

Discussion: Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Fox News, Raw Story, Washington Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Moderate Voice, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and ABC News

Matthew Mosk / ABC News: Ted Cruz Questions Donald Trump's Ties to Mafia-Linked Twice-Convicted Felon

CBS News:
Poll: Donald Trump leads in Virginia, Georgia; Ted Cruz hanging on in Texas

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, The Last Refuge, YouGov US Opinion Center News, RedState, Slantpoint and Outside the Beltway

Kathy Frankovic / YouGov US Opinion Center News:
3 in 4 Republican voters now expect Trump to be the nominee

Discussion: Political Wire

John Wagner / Washington Post:

With hours to go, Bernie Sanders aiming for $40 million fundraising month in Febraury — FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The campaign of Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders said Monday that it had already raised $36 million this month and was aiming to top the $40 million mark by the end of February's final day.

Discussion: Political Wire

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Bernie braces for decision day

Discussion: Yahoo and Yahoo News Photo

New York Times:
On the Campaign Trail: G.O.P. Race Grows Cruder and More Aggressive

Discussion: Political Wire and The Week

Kyle Cheney / Politico: Breaking down the GOP's Super Tuesday map

Guardian:

Airbnb guests shocked by decomposing corpse in garden — The group had hoped to host a party at the house south of Paris but their plans were derailed by the macabre discovery — A group of friends who rented a house on Airbnb for a party weekend in a French town got a nasty surprise …

Discussion: Jezebel

Stacey Dash:

Who is Stacey Dash and why did she just walk across the #Oscar stage? — You might be watching the Oscars and wondering why someone named Stacey Dash just walked across the stage. (Why was that funny anyway?) — Well, I'm Stacey - with an “e” - and it's nice to meet you.

Discussion: Mashable, WBAY-TV, addictinginfo.org, Towleroad, New York's PIX11, Refinery29, The Verge, USA Today and theGrio

Tom Hamburger / Washington Post:

Trump Mortgage failed. Here's what that says about the GOP front-runner. — As some economists and Wall Street traders began to sense danger ahead of the crippling housing market collapse of 2008, Donald Trump waved away the worries and offered a concrete expression of confidence in the industry.

Discussion: RedState and The Resurgent

Hugh Hewitt / Washington Examiner:

Six reasons Trump is still better than Clinton — I spent Friday's radio show explaining to incredulous guests that of course I'd support Donald Trump if he is the GOP nominee. — “But after he just insulted you and your radio show in front of 15 million people?” came the question.

Ian Schwartz / RealClearPolitics:

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions Endorses Donald Trump At Huntsville Rally — Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) endorsed Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Huntsville Sunday evening. Sessions ensured a “Gang of Eight” type of immigration reform bill will not will pass under Donald Trump

Discussion: PoliPundit.com, Power Line, Vox Popoli and The Resurgent