memeorandum: With Trump leading in Virginia, Rubio makes a big play (Washington Post)

3:35 PM ET, February 28, 2016

Top Items:

Alex Pareene / Gawker:

How We Fooled Donald Trump Into Retweeting Benito Mussolini — Is Donald Trump a fascist? Experts, historians, and pundits have debated the question for months. One thing has been certain for a while now: He tweets like one. That's why, last year, Gawker's Ashley Feinberg created …

Discussion: Fusion, Washington Post, RedState, Business Insider, Independent Journal Review, The Week, New York Magazine, New York Times, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, Joe.My.God., The Right Scoop, Slantpoint, The Daily Caller, Mashable and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Elena Schneider / Politico:

Trump explains tweeting Mussolini quote — Donald Trump said on NBC's “Meet the Press” that he retweeted a quote from Benito Mussolini, the Italian fascist dictator, because he wants to “be associated with interesting quotes.” — “Chuck, it's OK to know it's Mussolini. Look, Mussolini was Mussolini.

Discussion: The Hill, RedState, Mediaite and The Right Scoop

Sara Jerde / Talking Points Memo:
Gawker Takes Credit For Mussolini Account That Trump Retweeted

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Washington Post and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

NBC News:

Christie Campaign's Finance Co-Chair Calls on Donors to Reject Trump — Meg Whitman, the CEO of Hewlett-Packard who had an official role with Gov. Chris Christie's now-suspended presidential campaign, called his endorsement of Trump, “an astonishing display of political opportunism.”

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Guardian, Independent Journal Review and Mondoweiss

Nicki Rossoll / ABC News:

Despite Endorsement, Chris Christie Still Disagrees With Some of Donald Trump's Policies

Discussion: Yahoo Politics

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript: Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, and Bernie Sanders

Discussion: Politicus USA

Politico:
CLINTON'S ROMP ‘dramatically narrows’ Sanders path …

Discussion: us3.campaign-archive1.com and Raw Story

Eric Bradner / CNN:

Trump won't disavow support from KKK, David Duke — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump wouldn't disavow former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke's support for his presidential bid, saying Sunday that he knows nothing about the white supremacist leader. — “Just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke, OK?”

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, TIME, The Atlantic, ThinkProgressPage Array, American Spectator, KTLA, Trail Blazers Blog, Guardian, Hit & Run, Mashable, Scott Adams Blog and WTVR-TV

Camila Domonoske / NPR:

Trump Won't Condemn KKK, Says He ‘Knows Nothing About White Supremacists’ — On the Sunday morning talk shows, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump refused to condemn endorsements from prominent white supremacist and former KKK leader, and said he retweeted a Mussolini quote because “it's a very good quote.”

Discussion: Washington Post, BuzzFeed, Yahoo Politics, U.S. News, Hot Air, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NBC News, Politico and Outside the Beltway

Associated Press:
The Latest: Clinton Asks TN Worshippers to Reject Prejudice

Discussion: ABC News and Politico

Harry Enten / FiveThirtyEight:

With All Eyes On Trump, Clinton Is Winning The Democratic Nomination — UPDATE (Feb. 27, 9:12 p.m.): We've updated the numbers below to reflect the latest exit poll data and precinct returns. — In South Carolina today, Hillary Clinton scored her biggest victory yet in the Democratic presidential primary.

Discussion: BloombergView.com, Washington Monthly, Infowars, Common Dreams, Washington Post, Yahoo Politics, ABC News, CNN, Guardian, The Week, New Jersey News …, New York Magazine and Vox

ABC News:
Black Voters Boost Clinton in South Carolina

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite, Salon, CANNONFIRE, Associated Press, Fusion, Slantpoint, Slate, Los Angeles Times, The Week, The Atlantic, Politicus USA, Balloon Juice, ThinkProgressPage Array and Hot Air

New York Times:
Hillary Clinton Wins South Carolina Primary

Discussion: Liberal Values, NBC News, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, Raw Story, Vox, Pitchfork, The Moderate Voice, Politico, Mother Jones, Power Line, The Week, Towleroad and ThinkProgressPage Array

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Sanders on South Carolina results: ‘Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose’

Discussion: Washington Post and The Week

Molly Ball / The Atlantic:
Barack Obama's Heir

Discussion: New York Times and The Week

Sara Jerde / Talking Points Memo:

Trump Criticizes The Republican Party: It's ‘Not Being Run Properly’ — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized the Republican party on Sunday, and said that it was not “being run properly.” — Trump told CNN host Jake Tapper that he was representing “a lot of anger out there” …

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

From Obama to Trump — THE spectacle of the Republican Party's Trumpian meltdown has inspired a mix of glee and fear among liberals — glee over their rivals' self-immolation, and fear that what arises from the destruction will be worse. — What it hasn't inspired is much in the way of self-examination …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

David Atkins / Washington Monthly:
End the Superdelegates. End the Caucuses. For Democracy's Sake.

Discussion: Hot Air and Booman Tribune

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

‘Cockamamie’: Kasich campaign rejects talk of brokered convention — John Kasich's campaign rejected suggestions Sunday that it's pursuing a strategy to knock out Donald Trump at a brokered Republican National Convention in July. — During a conference call with reporters …

Discussion: Political Wire

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Super Tuesday Scorecard: Big night possible for Donald Trump

Discussion: Hot Air

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
As Trump rolls into ‘Super Tuesday,’ Rubio hopes to hang on

Discussion: Politico, Outside the Beltway, NBC News, New York Times and Princeton Election Consortium

Harper Neidig / The Hill:
Kasich: I'll drop out if I lose Ohio

Discussion: RedState

New York Times:

Hillary Clinton, ‘Smart Power’ and a Dictator's Fall … By the time Mahmoud Jibril cleared customs at Le Bourget airport and sped into Paris, the American secretary of state had been waiting for hours. But this was not a meeting Hillary Clinton could cancel. Their encounter could decide whether America was again going to war.

Discussion: Front Page Magazine, Hit & Run and JustOneMinute

BBC:

Iran election: Reformists win all 30 Tehran seats — Allies of Iran's reformist President Hassan Rouhani have won a landslide victory in Tehran, in the first parliamentary vote since Iran signed a nuclear deal with world powers. — With 90% of the votes counted, the pro-Rouhani List of Hope …

Discussion: The Week

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

MSNBC to sever ties with Melissa Harris-Perry after host's critical email — MSNBC intends to part ways with host Melissa Harris-Perry after she complained about preemptions of her weekend program and implied that there was a racial aspect to the cable-news network's treatment, insiders at MSNBC said.

Discussion: CNNMoney, New York Times, BizPac Review, Jezebel, Raw Story, Independent Journal Review, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Washington Free Beacon, theGrio, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, The Week and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

John Cassidy / New Yorker:

Donald Trump's Business Record Demands More Scrutiny — On July 10th of last year, six days before Donald Trump confirmed rumors that he was entering the 2016 Presidential race, David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, published a piece at The National Memo that was headlined “21 Questions For Donald Trump.”