BURLINGTON, Wis. – Ohio Gov. John Kasich, running for the GOP nomination for president, proposed a novel approach Saturday to strengthening Social Security: “Set up a tent city” and have mass protests in Washington along the lines of the Occupy movement that staged long-lasting demonstrations in the capital, New York and other cities.
“Occupy D.C. to fix Social Security,” Kasich told a town hall gathering of a few hundred people Saturday morning in Burlington. “One party will never fix Social Security,” he said, and people should gather to demand political cooperation until something gets done.
Donald Trump was back on the always lively and often combustible rally circuit Saturday as presidential contenders in both parties bid for advantage in Wisconsin’s primaries Tuesday.
Overshadowing the Republican race: a persistent effort by Trump’s rivals in the campaign and the party to force the nomination fight into the July convention – and the front-runner’s equivocations on whether he will be loyal to the GOP or bolt for an independent candidacy if he feels mistreated.
Ted Cruz on Friday told a Milwaukee County GOP dinner that Trump as the Republican nominee would be “a train wreck,” quipping: “That’s actually not fair to train wrecks.”
Cruz, a Texas senator who’s running second behind Trump in primary contests, said Republicans would hand the White House to Hillary Clinton with Trump as the nominee, a fear shared by many in the party.
Trump attended three rallies Saturday in Wisconsin, in Racine, Wausau and Eau Claire. In Janesville earlier in the week, a man pepper-sprayed a 15-year-old girl as Trump opponents and supporters clashed outside his rally. About 1,000 people attended the rally, while about as many protested outside.
Wisconsin has emerged as a proving ground for anti-Trump forces as the front-runner’s campaign hit a rough patch. Trump defended his campaign manager after he was charged with battery against a reporter, backtracked from comments that women should be punished for having abortions, encountered a buzz saw of hostile interviews by conservative Wisconsin talk radio hosts and watched Cruz overtake him in preference polls in the state.
In an interview Friday, to be broadcast on “Fox News Sunday,” Trump left open the question of an independent candidacy when asked about it. “I want to run as a Republican,” Trump said. But if he doesn’t get the nomination? “I’m going to have to see how I was treated. Very simple.”
