Your weekly wrap of the US election campaign by the ABC's Zoe Daniel

USA Votes 2016


Washington bureau chief Zoe Daniel reflects on how Trump scored all the publicity that money can't buy
Donald Trump held a press conference this week where he spoke in detail about the fittings at the new hotel that the Trump Organisation is developing in Washington DC.

On cable TV across America, The Donald went live, enthusing about the marble floors, the high ceilings, the thick walls in the old DC post office, which is being refurbished for the hotel. The news channels stayed with it.

"I think when it's completed, it will be truly one of the great hotels of the world," Mr Trump said.

It says a lot about the presidential hopeful's ability to command media attention. Recent analysis shows he's had almost $US2 billion worth of free media coverage while spending comparatively little on his campaign.

Donald Trump attracts viewers; be they supporters or gawkers — they're there.

Take CNN for example, which has been charging up to $US200,000 per 30-second ad spot during the GOP debates. That's a whopping 40 times more than usual.

At one point, a woman in the above press conference put her hand up and asked for a job.

"Come up here, come up here," The Donald said from the podium. "Do you mind if I do a job interview right now?"

It's the kind of spontaneous unpredictability that rates.

"If we can make a good deal on the salary, she's gonna probably have a job," he told the crowd, and the millions watching on live TV.

He then went on to give a serious speech on foreign policy at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference. It's an event that has serious cred.

All of the others still in the presidential race, except Bernie Sanders who was campaigning elsewhere, were also speakers.

Mr Trump, unusually, used an auto cue to deliver a prepared speech in which he railed against everything from Barack Obama to the Iran nuclear deal.

On that, he said: "I've studied this issue in great detail, I would say actually greater by far than anybody else, believe me," to roars of laughter from the assembled crowd of leaders and experts.

It goes to what seems to be his complete inner confidence.

"I think if you look back at my projections and my prognostications, they've turned out to be very, very accurate," was yet another gem from the week's Trump quotes.

Speaking of quotes and projections and prognostications there was also this: "We should make 1,237 easily; we won't have to worry about fighting at a convention."

Let's take a look at that shall we?

VICTORS

Donald Trump, who won the winner-take-all Arizona primary this week and added 58 delegates to his tally.

Ted Cruz, who took 40 delegates in winner-take-all Utah and is also gaining endorsements left, right and centre from Republicans who are trying to stop Mr Trump.

He's basically universally disliked within his own party, and yet the GOP establishment is starting to form an orderly queue behind him, because he's supposedly the last and final hope at stopping Donald Trump from seizing the Republican nomination.

It started with former presidential hopeful Lindsey Graham earlier this week. Yes, that's right, the same Lindsey Graham who called Cruz "worse than Obama" and then declared that "if you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, no one would convict you".

That Lindsey Graham.

And he's not the only one; former GOP hopeful Jeb Bush has joined the procession of Republicans rallying behind the Cruz camp. Why? I guess he's a company man.

Bernie Sanders. With his back against the rope once again, the 74-year-old picked up two more victories in the states of Idaho and Utah, Bernie's 10th and 11th victories, respectively, in the primary process.

After repeatedly saying he'll go all the way to the Democratic National Convention in July, on Tuesday night he declared that the path to the White House was "through the West".

Hillary Clinton. Wait, what? How can both she and Bernie be winners I hear you asking? Well, it comes down to those pesky delegate counts, yet again.

Despite Bernie picking up two wins to her one on Tuesday night, thanks to Hillary's win in Arizona (the biggest state going to the polls on the night), Bernie's win was just 18 delegates and Clinton's lead is looking increasingly insurmountable.

VANQUISHED



John Kasich, who is way behind the leaders and can't win enough delegates from here to win the nomination outright.

There's no doubt he's gunning for a brokered convention, but despite being the only so-called GOP establishment candidate left, he's not winning establishment support.

Here's a good explainer on why.

DRUM ROLL...

Just for fun, let's review the delegate count shall we?

GOP: 1,237 needed for the nomination

Trump 739
Cruz 465
Kasich 143

DEM: 2,383 needed for the nomination

Clinton 1,223 (1,690 with super delegates)
Sanders 920 (946 with super delegates)

Can Mr Trump reach the magical 1,237 needed before the convention? It's possible. Fivethirtyeight.com explains.

THE BETTER HALVES

If this campaign has proven anything, it's that nothing is off limits. This week, the leading GOP candidates brought their wives into the fray.

It started with an anti-Trump super PAC, which goes by the name Make America Awesome, which released this ad using a raunchy GQ photo shoot with Donald Trump's wife Melania, from back in 2000.

It was a tactic targeted at the conservative Mormon population in Utah, which worked for Cruz on the night.

Donald Trump was furious and took to Twitter (as he does) and threatened to "spill the beans" on Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi.

That led to Heidi Cruz giving a press conference in which she said, "most of things Donald Trump says have no basis in reality".

Still following? Ted Cruz dismissed the controversy saying, "The ad was completely inappropriate and we had nothing to do with it" before adding that his wife isn't scared of Donald.

Just when we thought the controversy was over, Donald Trump went back to Twitter to stoke the flame.

Got it? Good. Moving on.

POP IN THE KISSER

You'd be aware that Donald Trump's statement that he'd like to punch a protester in the face has had a lot of attention.

Less so, a poll that purports to show that more than half of Americans would like to do just that to Mr Trump. Ouch.

D'OH!

The Simpsons has a successful record of lampooning real life — particularly things that have already happened. But, an episode that aired nearly 16 years ago foreshadowed a future that now seems very real: A Trump presidency.

One of the writers, Dan Greaney, said the idea was, "a warning to America" and an attempt to invent a world in which "everything went as bad as it possibly could".

Spooky. Might we see a Lisa for President ticket at a brokered convention? Just a thought.

BY THE NUMBERS

Six: The number of elected delegates replaced with alternates in the US Virgin Islands after an alleged violation of state party rules.

What does this mean? Well, the replacements give both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz an extra delegate at the convention — and in this race to 1,237, every delegate counts!

TWO TO TANGO



President Barack Obama capped off a historic week by becoming the first president in nearly 90 years to visit the communist state of Cuba.

While the trip itself was one for the books, there were some particularly memorable moments including the limp wrist celebration with Raul Castro and doing the wave during a friendly baseball game.

To top it off, the POTUS showed he could be quick on his feet, doing the tango at an Argentinean state dinner.

Presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz and John Kasich were quick to criticise Mr Obama, who continued the trip despite the Brussels attacks, but the President argued that he wouldn't cut the trip short and give in to the fear-mongering of terrorists.

BROKERED CONVENTION, YO!

The idea of a brokered convention is tough to get your head around. My colleague, Stephanie March gives a good explainer here, but American talk show host Larry Willmore employed the services of rapper 2 Chainz.

I hope it clears up any confusion!

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

The next stops on the never-ending primary circuit for the Democrats are in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington this weekend.

The Republicans will be campaigning in North Dakota on April Fool's Day before the two sides meet up again in Wisconsin on April 5, where a sizeable number of delegates are up for grabs.

There may be no final answers, at least on the GOP side, until the big California primary in June.

Zoe

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