Donald Trump accused of conning voters

It is clear from the ferocity of the attacks on Donald Trump that the businessman has the upper hand in the race to win the Republican nomination.

Whether it is a small hand or not seems trivial to everyone but himself and his ridiculer-in-chief Marco Rubio.

The 11th Republican debate will not be remembered for Mr Rubio’s flip-flopping accusations against Mr Trump or the attacks on his business failures or past ties to Democrats but for Mr Trump’s statement about the size of his genitals.

Defending himself against Mr Rubio’s descent into campaign trail insults, he hit back at the Florida senator’s claims that he had “small hands.”

“Look at those hands. Are they small hands?” he said. “And he referred to my hands [saying] if they’re small, something else must be small.

“I guarantee you there’s no problem,” he added, shocking the debate moderators.

One Twitter wag yesterday posted an extract from Trump's book 1987 The Art of the Deal about why he believed "a little hyperbole never hurts".

“People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration – a very effective form of promotion,” he wrote.

Unfortunately for Mr Rubio, size does matter, although it's the size of Mr Trump's lead in the polls. Should he continue to match his poll performances in actual votes, Mr Rubio will face a defeat in his home state of Florida on March 15th that could make Mr Trump's nomination as the Republican candidate inevitable. In an attempt to stop the Trump juggernaut, Mr Rubio and second-placed Ted Cruz, a senator from Texas, tried at the debate to pin their attacks on whether Mr Trump can be trusted as a genuine conservative.

Mr Rubio, with one state win, and Mr Cruz, with four, attempted to land blows over a report that Mr Trump suggested in an off-the-record meeting with the New York Times editorial board that he would be much more flexible on his immigration policies.

They called on Mr Trump to ask the newspaper to release the audio tape of his meeting. “No, I never do that,” he replied, saying he had “too much respect” for the journalistic sanctity of an off-the-record agreement.

Strategy

At the heart of this issue is a strategy Mr Trump is suspected of playing: as he pivots from conservative primary voters to moderate general election voters, is he taking extreme positions to move to the middle?

In another heated exchange, Mr Cruz tried to stop Mr Trump interrupting him. “Breathe,” said Mr Cruz, making soothing noises.

“When they’re done with the yoga, can I answer a question?” said Mr Rubio, interjecting. Mr Cruz said he hoped there would be no yoga on the stage. “Well, he’s very flexible,” said Mr Rubio, pointing to Mr Trump, “so you never know.”

There is some truth in Mr Rubio’s charge. At the debate, Mr Trump said he was “softening” his stance on visas for highly skilled immigrant workers because “we need to have talented people.”

Yesterday, he reversed stance on another issue, saying as president he would not order the US military to break international laws by forcing them to torture and kill the family members of terrorists in order to prevent attacks.

Flexibility is becoming a hallmark of his campaign.