memeorandum: The Republican Party's implosion over Donald Trump's candidacy has arrived (Philip Rucker/Washington Post)

9:00 AM ET, February 29, 2016

Top Items:

The Republican Party's implosion over Donald Trump's candidacy has arrived — MADISON, Ala. — The implosion over Donald Trump's candidacy that Republicans had hoped to avoid arrived so virulently this weekend that many party leaders vowed never to back the billionaire and openly questioned whether …

Discussion: ABC News, NBC News, Politico, Balloon Juice, Yahoo Politics and Associated Press

Ben Sasse / Facebook:

AN OPEN LETTER TO TRUMP SUPPORTERS — To my friends supporting Donald Trump: — The Trump coalition is broad and complicated, but I believe many Trump fans are well-meaning. I have spoken at length with many of you, both inside and outside Nebraska. You are rightly worried about our national direction.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Times, Political Wire, Guardian, Independent Journal Review, RedState and The Right Scoop

CNN:

Trump, Clinton dominant as Super Tuesday looms — Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are poised to lead the nation's two major parties in this fall's presidential election — (CNN)Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are poised to lead the nation's two major parties in this fall's presidential election …

Discussion: Washington Post, BostonGlobe.com, Business Insider, Washington Times and The Week

Jose A. DelReal / Washington Post:

In major blow to Ted Cruz, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama endorses Donald Trump for GOP nomination — MADISON, Ala. — Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), whose hard-line conservative stances on immigration and trade have made him a favorite of the party's base, endorsed Donald Trump's White House bid during …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Fox News, Washington Times, The Moderate Voice and ABC News

Nick Gass / Politico:

Joe Scarborough: Trump's KKK ignorance ‘disqualifying’ — Donald Trump's failure to explicitly disavow the Ku Klux Klan and former Grand Wizard David Duke is “disqualifying,” Joe Scarborough declared on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” on Monday. — “It's breathtaking. That is disqualifying right there.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post and New York Times

Joshua Green / Bloomberg Business:

Why Ted Cruz Probably Won't Drop Out, No Matter What — The Texas senator may be playing a long game. — JoshuaGreen — Ted Cruz has had a disappointing few weeks since winning the Iowa GOP caucuses. He was outshone by John Kasich in New Hampshire. Then he lost South Carolina to Donald Trump …

Discussion: Political Wire

Nick Gass / Politico:

Trump blames ‘lousy earpiece’ for KKK flap — Donald Trump blamed CNN for providing a “lousy earpiece” in explaining his non-answer to the network on Sunday when asked to disavow the Ku Klux Klan and David Duke. — “I'm sitting in a house in Florida with a very bad earpiece that they gave me …

Discussion: The Week, Political Wire, Washington Post, Hot Air, Guardian, Mediaite, Towleroad, The Right Scoop and The Moderate Voice

Nick Gass / Politico:

Huckabee: ‘Does anybody think Donald Trump is a racist?’ — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee defended Donald Trump on Monday, remarking that the GOP front-runner's apparent failure to disavow the Ku Klux Klan and David Duke in an interview the previous day did not reflect any “racist tendencies.”

New York Times:
Christie Splits With His Past in Backing Trump

Discussion: Business Insider

Kathy Frankovic / YouGov US Opinion Center News:
3 in 4 Republican voters now expect Trump to be the nominee

Discussion: Political Wire

Alex Pareene / Gawker:
How We Fooled Donald Trump Into Retweeting Benito Mussolini

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

Kristen East / Politico:
Trump declines to condemn Ku Klux Klan

Discussion: Washington Post, TIME, USA Today, Mashable, The Gateway Pundit, NBC News, Political Insider blog, CBS New York, U.S. News, The Times of Israel, ABC News and Boing Boing

David Edwards / Raw Story:
Donald Trump: ‘It would be very unfair’ to disavow KKK and David Duke until I ‘do research on them’

Discussion: Bipartisan Report and addictinginfo.org

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
‘Cockamamie’: Kasich campaign rejects talk of brokered convention

Discussion: ABC News

Elena Schneider / Politico:
Trump explains tweeting Mussolini quote

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, RedState, Business Insider, The Hill, The Right Scoop, Mediaite and Guardian

Ian Schwartz / RealClearPolitics:

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions Endorses Donald Trump At Huntsville Rally — Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) endorsed Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Huntsville Sunday evening. Sessions ensured a “Gang of Eight” type of immigration reform bill will not will pass under Donald Trump

Discussion: PoliPundit.com, Power Line, Vox Popoli and The Resurgent

Arian Campo-Flores / Wall Street Journal:
Jeff Sessions, Leading GOP Senate Voice on Immigration, Endorses Trump

Discussion: addictinginfo.org

Eli Stokols / Politico: Sen. Jeff Sessions endorses Trump

New York Times:

On the Campaign Trail: G.O.P. Race Grows Cruder and More Aggressive — PURCELLVILLE, Va. — It is the kind of campaign he said he would never run. But Senator Marco Rubio, seeing his path to the Republican nomination grow narrower with each contest, has determined that the only way to beat Donald J. Trump …

Discussion: Political Wire and The Week

Kyle Cheney / Politico: Breaking down the GOP's Super Tuesday map

Juan Williams / The Hill:

GOP hits new low on court — Isn't it obvious? — As an act of political theater, President Obama should pick Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — (R-Ky.) to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Then the nation will find out if McConnell's distaste for the president …

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:

Puerto Rican crisis roils 2016 race — Puerto Rico's economic crisis could play a critical role in the race for the White House. — Years of economic decline has driven hundreds of thousands of island residents to the US mainland, and is upending the political calculus on the presidential trail.

Elliot Smilowitz / The Hill:

Trump: Debates are a ‘waste of time’ — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump — is ready to be done with debates. — Trump on Friday night hinted he had thought about skipping another GOP debate, as he lamented the events as “a terrible waste of time.” — “Aren't these debates ridiculous, though?”

Discussion: RedState

Hugh Hewitt / Washington Examiner:

Six reasons Trump is still better than Clinton — I spent Friday's radio show explaining to incredulous guests that of course I'd support Donald Trump if he is the GOP nominee. — “But after he just insulted you and your radio show in front of 15 million people?” came the question.