Chicago Trump rally canceled amid protests

Associated Press

CHICAGO

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump canceled one of his signature rallies Friday, calling off the event in Chicago due to safety concerns after protesters packed the arena where it was to take place.

The announcement the billionaire businessman would postpone the rally until another day led a large portion of the crowd inside the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion to break out into raucous cheers. Many rushed onto the floor, jumping up and down with their arms up in the air.

“Trump represents everything America is not and everything Chicago is not,” said Kamran Siddiqui, 20, a student at the school who was among those celebrating. “We came in here, and we wanted to shut this down. Because this is a great city and we don’t want to let that person in here.”

Some supporters of the Republican front-runner started chanting “We want Trump! We want Trump!” in response to the celebrations, and there were some isolated physical confrontations between members of the crowd. Chicago police said they made five arrests.

“It’s a shame,” said Trump supporter Bill Tail, 43, of the Chicago suburb of Oaklawn. “They scream about tolerance, but are being intolerant themselves. That doesn’t make sense.”

As Trump attempts to unify a fractured Republican Party ahead of next week’s slate of winner-take-all primary elections, the confrontations between his legion of loyal supporters and protesters who accuse him of stoking racial hatred have intensified at his rallies.

RUBIO: VOTE FOR KASICH

Elsewhere, Marcoe Rubio focused on policy differences and turned to Republican competitor John Kasich for help, as the Republican front-runner’s rivals — and the party’s establishment — grasped for any way to slow Trump’s march toward the nomination.

“Clearly John Kasich has a better chance of stopping Donald Trump in Ohio than I do,” Rubio told reporters on Friday, encouraging his supporters in Ohio to vote for Kasich next week.

The extraordinary tactic reflects the increasing sense of urgency looming over the 2016 contest as Trump eyes what would be a devastating sweep in next week’s winner-take-all elections in Ohio and Florida.

In all, 367 Republican delegates are at stake Tuesday in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and the Northern Mariana Islands. A win in either Florida or Ohio, some fear, could give Trump an insurmountable delegate lead.