Trump: California Protesters Were 'Thugs' And 'Criminals'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)-- The Republican presidential candidates are focusing on Indiana and California this weekend. In addition to counting votes, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are making appeals to Republican leaders.
Cruz got a surprise boost Saturday.
"I'm here today to announce to you my wholehearted endorsement," Pete Wilson, former Governor of California, said.
"California is going to decide this Republican primary," Cruz said.
So will Indiana. In a new online ad, a Cruz super-pac touts Indiana Governor Mike Pence's vote of confidence, CBS2's Brook Silva-Braga reported.
"I'm expressing my support today," Pence said.
But Pence refrained from criticizing Trump. And many Republicans are now convinced he'll win the nomination.
Tennessee Congressman Jimmy Duncan endorsed the Republican front-runner on Saturday.
On Friday, several protesters opposed to Trump's immigration positions blocked his arrival at the California GOP convention, forcing Trump to arrive on foot.
"Oh boy, felt like I was crossing the border actually," Trump said.
In a tweet Saturday, he called the protesters "thugs and criminals... many of them are professionals," he wrote.
John Kasich responded to the incident with a call for inclusion.
"Do the Republicans actually think that they can win an election by scaring every Hispanic in this country to death?" Kasich said.
Trump's delegate lead of more than 400 puts him on pace to clinch the nomination with wins in Indiana on Tuesday and California in early June.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton needs 223 more delegates to clinch her party's nomination against Bernie Sanders.
