Trump Cancels Chicago Rally as Fractious Campaign Boils Over
- Supporters and opponents skirmish inside chaotic arena scene
- Rivals blame him for violence; Cruz invokes '68 convention
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One of the ugliest U.S. presidential campaigns in modern history turned even uglier Friday night when Donald Trump abruptly canceled a Chicago rally in the face of furious protests, setting off a melee of shoving and taunting between supporters and opponents.
The boiling-over culminated weeks of violence that has become a fixture of Trump’s rallies. The Republican front-runner has often called for protesters to be ejected and has mused about whether they deserve physical abuse, even as he says he doesn’t condone it. Filled with rhetoric that excoriates Muslims and Mexicans, Trump’s campaign may be the most bare-knuckled and racially charged since segregationist George Wallace’s third-party run for the presidency in 1968.