Super Tuesday brings Trump and Biden closer to historic rematch

This result is said to pave the way for a historic Trump-Biden rematch in the US general election next November, even though both candidates have low approval ratings.

According to Reuters, Mr. Trump won the Republican vote in dozens of states, including California and Texas. He surpassed former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, his only remaining opponent. The news agency also commented that after an excellent performance in 15 states in the Super Tuesday election, Mr. Trump almost won the right to be nominated for president for the third consecutive time, although he is facing a series of criminal charges.

Both Mr Trump and Mr Biden have turned their attention to each other as the outcome became clear. In his victory speech at his Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida, Mr Trump attacked Mr Biden’s immigration policies and called him “the worst president” in history.

“November 5th will go down as the most important day in the history of our country,” Mr. Trump declared.

In his statement, Mr. Biden once again labeled Mr. Trump as a threat to American democracy. “Tonight’s results leave the American people with a clear choice: Will we continue to move forward, or will we allow Donald Trump to drag us back into the chaos, division, and darkness that has defined his presidency?” – Mr. Biden said.

Mr Biden is expected to sweep the Democratic primaries, although activists opposed to his strong support for Israel have urged Muslim Americans and progressives to vote “uncommitted” in Minnesota as they did in Michigan.

Biden is projected to win Minnesota, but “uncommitted” has captured 20.4% of the vote with about half of the expected ballots counted, Edison said. The US president has won 14 other states, including Iowa’s postal vote that ended on March 5.

According to the American Samoa Democratic Party, Mr. Biden suffered a defeat, at the caucus of the American Samoa territory, businessman Jason Palmer won 51 votes compared to Mr. Biden's 40 votes.

Another election campaign between Mr Trump, 77, and Mr Biden, 81 — the first presidential rematch since 1956 — is something few Americans are looking forward to. Polls show both Mr Biden and Mr Trump have low approval ratings among voters.

Edison polls in California, North Carolina and Virginia show that immigration and the economy are the top concerns for Republican voters. Majorities of Republicans in those states say they support deporting illegal immigrants. Trump has promised to launch the largest deportation effort in U.S. history if elected.

So far, Mr. Trump has won all but one primary, reducing the number of Republican candidates to two. Vermont is the only state where Ms. Haley is likely to be competitive on March 5, leading Mr. Trump 49.3% to 46.8% with an estimated 89% of the vote counted, according to Edison.

Notably, according to Reuters, about a third of North Carolina voters said that Mr. Trump would not be eligible to hold the presidency if he were convicted, while in Virginia, 53% said that he would still be eligible to hold the presidency if convicted.

Mr Trump is scheduled to attend his first criminal trial on March 25 in New York, where he is accused of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign.

In addition to the New York lawsuit, Mr. Trump faces separate federal and Georgia charges of election interference, although it is unclear whether either case will be tried before the November election. He also faces federal charges of withholding classified documents after leaving office.

Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all four criminal cases.

Meanwhile, Mr Biden is also facing his own weaknesses, including widespread concerns about his age. He is now the oldest US president in history.