The key takeaways from Super Tuesday
Welcome to Wednesday’s Early Edition from i.
Anyone who held the tiniest notion that the upcoming US presidential election would be anything other than a Biden-Trump rematch should now put those thoughts well and truly to bed. Last night’s Super Tuesday results were entirely predictable, in that the US president and the former one swept the board almost completely clean. Donald Trump’s victories in the biggest election night of the year so far were so obvious that projections for his win in some early states came just minutes after polls had closed. “They call it Super Tuesday for a reason,” Trump told a raucous crowd during a victory speech at his Mar-a-Lago estate. However not all went according to plan. Nikki Haley scored a surprise victory against Trump in Vermont, while Biden also suffered a small but unusual defeat. What did we learn? We’ll take a look after the news.
Today’s news, and why it matters
Labour is braced for a political trap after the general election with Jeremy Hunt poised to cut personal taxes in the Budget while squeezing public spending. The Chancellor is widely expected to announce that future Government spending will be reduced compared to current plans – without spelling out where cuts will fall.
‘If Jeremy Hunt doesn’t cut ridiculous taxes for small businesses, we’re moving abroad’. Small business owners face shutting up shop if the Chancellor does not cut taxes in his Budget today, i reports.
UK defence spending on hardware such as tanks and battleships is being hampered in Whitehall by conflicts between military planners, civil servants and politicians, i has been told. Defence insiders, policymakers and experts have all warned that military procurement in Britain was still too inefficient and bloated.
The Army is set to remove a claim made on its website that the Princess of Wales is reviewing Trooping the Colour in June. Tickets were being sold on the Army’s website for the 8 June military spectacle, advertising an appearance by Kate, until late on Tuesday evening.
The Government faces “serious questions” over a secret dossier on an academic’s social media posts after an independent inquiry found there were “no grounds” to suspend them for their political views. i revealed last year that the Government prepared a secret report highlighting an academic’s posts supporting transgender rights, Black Lives Matter, lecturer strikes and criticisms of No 10 amid a free speech row with universities.
5 key takeaways from Super Tuesday
- Trump cements his lead: The former US president was triumphant in his victory speech at Mar-a-Lago as the bulk of results rolled in. He reiterated his “invasion” rhetoric on migrants and resumed calling Covid the “Chinese virus”. As Andrew Buncombe noted: “The GOP now belongs entirely to Trump, and any policies it agrees to will be those he wants. Even if something were to happen to Trump before the convention, it seems inconceivable the MAGA-drinking delegates would select an establishment figure as their candidate. Vivek Ramaswamy or Kristi Noem or Tim Scott or Ted Cruz perhaps. Not Nikki Haley, who has said Trump has by his words and actions shown himself “not qualified” to be president again.” Read his full analysis here.
- The defeats: While the major wins dominated the night, there were two small but notable losses for each frontrunner. In the tiny US territory of American Samoa, a candidate called Jason Palmer beat Joe Biden, with 51 votes to Biden’s 40. Only six delegates were at stake in the territory, which is comprised of a small collection of islands in the South Pacific with fewer than 50,000 residents. It’s not the first time the territory has made headlines on Super Tuesday. In the 2020 Democratic primaries, billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s only win occurred there. Trump also faced one defeat against his rival Nikki Haley, with the former UN ambassador making a surprise win in Vermont. In a statement, a campaign spokesperson for her said: “We’re honoured to have received the support of millions of Americans across the country today, including in Vermont where Nikki became the first Republican woman to win two presidential primary contests.” Despite the historic nature, it’s only her second win in the primaries so far, and Trump’s margin in most states is increasingly making her position look untenable. Which brings us to:
- Nikki Haley’s future: Despite winning Vermont, the former UN ambassador failed to take Virginia and Maine, where there are more moderate voters who tend to be more partial to her. Trump appeared to take huge margins in most states, adding to already mounting pressure for her to stand down from the race. Ms Haley made no public statements on Tuesday night and her campaign listed no upcoming events on its website. Trump is expected to win the necessary 1,215 delegates to become the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee later this month. During previous election nights, he has criticised Haley, but on Tuesday he made no mention of her at all during his speech at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Ms Haley previously told NBC: “As long as we are competitive, as long as we are showing that there is a place for us, I’m going to continue to fight”. Will that change from today?
- How significant was the ‘uncommitted’ vote? Last month in Michigan an anti-war protest vote secured around 150,000 ballot papers in the Democratic race, about 15 times what the campaign set out to do. Voters putting ‘uncommitted’ on their ballots in the primaries have been hoping to send Joe Biden a message about his stance on the war in Gaza. In Michigan, a crucial swing state, this could prove to be a big deal. In the last presidential election, Biden won Michigan by a less than 3 per cent margin. Last night that vote was out again in force in some states, notably in Minnesota, where at least 20 per cent of people – around 40,000 voters – have made their voices heard. That now means Vote Uncommitted will pick up one delegate at the Democratic National Convention, the BBC reported. “Our humble movement of Democrats uncommitted to Biden’s funding of war in Gaza emerged victorious tonight,” Vote Uncommitted Minnesota spokesperson Asma Nizami said in a statement. With votes still being counted, this is a movement to watch.
- Incorrect poll information: The Associated Press reported on a concerning development on Tuesday in Alamaba, where more than 6,000 voters in a newly formed congressional district drawn to boost Black voting power received postcards with incorrect voting information. James Snipes, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Registrars, said voters arriving at the polls were still able to vote for the correct candidates. But others raised concerns it could have impacted the turnout. “For many Black voters in that district, this is the first election where they have the opportunity to elect a representative who looks like them,” Camille Wimbish, national director of campaigns and field programs for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said. “This could have caused many Black Alabamans to just stay home and not vote at all.” As previously reported, Black voters could be crucial to the presidential election. Read more on that here.
Around the world
Machines are taking the place of humans as the Israeli army fights the war in Gaza with the help of robots powered by artificial intelligence. The Israel Defence Forces has been experimenting with robotic, unmanned combat systems, including weaponry, to protect soldiers and military dogs in Gaza.
A 28-year-old motorbike-riding travel vlogger on a world tour with her husband has demanded justice after saying she was brutally gang raped by a group of men in eastern India. Brazilian adventure traveller Fernanda told reporters on Tuesday that she wanted to see “strict punishment for the criminals”.
People hoping to climb Mount Fuji in Japan using its most popular route will soon have to pay a £10 charge as authorities try to limit numbers. Hikers will also not be allowed to set off between 16:00 and 02:00 – part of a bid to stop so-called “bullet climbs”, when people try to scale the summit without breaks.
A “hypervaccinated” man who reportedly received 217 Covid jabs in 29 months showed “no signs” of ever being infected with the virus and had not reported any vaccine-related side-effects, according to a study. The 62-year-old, from Magdeburg, Germany said that he had the large number of vaccines for “private reasons”.
China and Russia are planning to install a nuclear power unit on the surface of the moon, the head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency has said. “Today we are seriously considering a project — somewhere at the turn of 2033-2035 — to deliver and install a power unit on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues,” Yury Borisov told Russian state media on Tuesday.
Watch out for…
12.30pm, when Jeremy Hunt delivers his long-awaited Budget.
Thoughts for the day
Bust in Birmingham budgets is a lesson for our age. The price of failure in Birmingham will be generational, writes Oliver Duff.
I love sharing my sex life with the public, even if it embarrasses my daughter. Motherhood takes a lot from you – for it to take my right to talk honestly would be a bridge too far, says Rebecca Reid.
Millennials like me know productive Sundays beat 3am raves. We don’t want the hangovers, explains Nell Frizzell.
Culture Break
Giovanna Fletcher: My boys ask if they’d be allowed to wear dresses. Who cares? The actress, author and podcaster talks to Helen Brown about writing a children’s book with her husband Tom Fletcher, interviewing the Princess of Wales, and playing the baddie onstage.
The Big Read
I met Britain’s conspiracy theorists – here’s what I learned. Marianna Spring has spent her career following these people down the rabbit hole of radical beliefs – from Totnes to Wales, this is what she has uncovered.
Sport
England ‘taken aback’ by India conditions with Mark Wood set for recall. Temperatures could drop as low as 1°C in Dharamshala as England look to end their tour of India on a high note.
Something to brighten your day
Yellowface and histrionics: The 10 worst Best Actress Oscar winners. Even the best actresses give bad performances – but these ones got awarded for them, writes Francesca Steele.
