Trump’s ‘conclusive’ Super Tuesday win hides an awkward truth

Jon Sopel joins a thousand jubilant Republicans in Florida as Donald Trump declares himself invincible in the race for the party’s presidential nomination. But his rival Nikki Haley has a couple of options – one thermonuclear – that could yet derail him

Trump addresses the audience at his Super Tuesday watch party in at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach (EPA)

It was Trump’s night. And a very Trumpian night. The “watch party” was in the ballroom of Mar-a-Lago, his very particular homage to the Palace of Mirrors at Versailles – all gaudy chandeliers, ornate plasterwork and gold chairs. It is gilt without the guilt.

His supporters had gathered, and all of them turned up in their best bib and tucker. It was less a political convention than a chance to dress up and show off.

When I was there eight years ago – before Trump had ascended to the presidency – it was a very different feel. There were only a few dozen members of the exclusive members club at the ridiculously manicured Palm Beach location on billionaires’ boulevard. They were a motley bunch, a sort of showcase of what cosmetic surgery can – and very strikingly can’t – deliver for people of advancing years. It was boob-job, butt-lift, botox, dyed-hair heaven. And then there was us: the scruffy journalists in the rows behind, trying to catch the president’s eye to ask a killer question.