Trump and Biden sweep Super Tuesday ahead of November showdown

Strolling into the packed ballroom of his own home, backed by the sounds of 'God bless the USA', Trump claimed that the US was facing an 'invasion' and that he planned on 'deporting a lot of people'

It was a short but dramatic night in American politics.

Within a few hours of polls closing, Donald Trump was on stage in the Mar-a-Lago ballroom celebrating his sweeping victory.

In fact, in the Republican primary elections across fifteen states, Trump won everywhere except Vermont.

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The former president has hauled in the vast majority of delegates by winning with massive margins, especially in Texas and California.

If you think about his legal woes - 4 criminal cases, 91 criminal charges, huge financial penalties - it shows Trump's astonishing political resilience.

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His sole remaining rival, Nikki Haley, now has no pathway to the nomination. It's the end of the road for her plucky campaign.

She must now decide whether to endorse Trump, who in his speech on Tuesday night called for party unity and didn't mention Haley's name once.

On the Democratic side, Joe Biden won everywhere except in American Samoa. He has no serious rival for his party's nomination, and so this was fully expected.

But the White House will be concerned that some liberal voters decided to vote "uncommitted" as a protest over Biden's policies on Gaza.

But now we know for sure: The presidential race will be a re-match of 2020.

So the real battle for the White House begins today.

A central issue for the 244 days until election days will be immigration. My colleague Dan Rivers has been highlighting that with his reporting from Texas.

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Trump is claiming an invasion is underway across the southern border, and that plays well with his core supporters and also with independent voters.

Another issue will be inflation.

Many Americans are struggling with the cost of living. Biden and Trump will scrap over that on November 5, the day of the election.

Biden will try and make the election about abortion access. He will also argue that Trump is a direct threat to democracy, and claim that America cannot afford to have an insurrectionist as president.

But Democrats cannot avoid the central truth that Trump has enjoyed a strong week.

The Supreme Court gave him a big legal victory. Several of the court cases against Trump appear to be in jeopardy, or at least will be delayed.

And now Trump has virtually clinched the nomination, setting the stage for one of the most significant elections in the history of the United States.

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