Now it does. And with zaid jilani, whose latest report neoconservatives declare war on donald trump. Then president clintons labor secretary robert reich has officially endorsed Bernie Sanders for president. I think the Biggest Issue in this campaign is the increasing concentration of income and wealth and political power, which goes with income or wealth, at the very top which is undermining our democracy and making a very difficult for us to get anything done, whether youre talking about Climate Change or helping the poor or doing anything in this country. Bernie sanders is leading a movement to change that. Amy robert reich will join us from california. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Super tuesday has arrived. It is one of the most important days of voting in primaries and caucuses in the 2016 president ial campaign. Republicans and democrats each go to the polls in 11 states. About a quarter of all delegates are at stake. The five republican president ial candidates will compete in contests in alabama, alaska, arkansas, georgia, massachusetts, minnesota, oklahoma, tennessee, texas, virginia, and vermont. Democratic voters will decide between their two candidates in similar states, except alaska, and also in colorado and american somoa. And american samoa. Recent polls show billionaire trump could win at least eight of the 11 states. On the campaign trail, florida senator marco rubio criticized trumps remarks refusing to disavow backing from former kkk member david duke. He is unelectable now. He refused to criticize the ku klux klan. He is been given for interviews. This morning on today, he blamed it on a bad earpiece, that he could not hear the question. I dont care how bad the earpieces, ku klux klan comes through pretty clearly. Amy in georgia, a group of about 30 black Valdosta State students say they were ejected from a donald trump rally monday night by a secret Service Agent who said trump asked for them to be removed. The students had been standing silently at the top of the bleachers. Enters outside, they said they just wanted to watch the rally. I think we got kicked out because we are a group of black people. I guess what is going on in america, they are afraid were going to Say Something or do some thing that we just wanted to watch the rally. To get kicked out because we are group of black people is frigid us. How racist our own school is that we cannot even go to our own school. Amy university, a white only campus until 1963. Earlier in the day at a Campaign Rally in virginia, trump was disrupted by protesters, including some from the black lives matter movement. Trump mocked the demonstrators, asking one of them are you from mexico . Here, please. T of get them out. Get them out. Are you from mexico . Are you from mexico . Are you from mexico . Amy Time Magazine photographer at the rally said secret Service Agent grabbed him by the neck and shoved him to the ground in an incident that was caught on video. On the democratic side following her commanding win in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton now leads Bernie Sanders in six of 11 states voting today. Alabama, arkansas, georgia, tennessee, texas koran virginia. In norfolk, virginia, clinton called for making america whole again. I personally believe america is and always has been great. Do together is make america whole again. Together,re working we are focused on making progress together. Where we talk about issues, not insult. Amy super tuesday comes as the state department has finished releasing emails from the private server clinton used while using whilst was secretary of state. Bernie sanders has an overwhelming lead over clinton in his home state of vermont. Speaking known, massachusetts, sanders drew attention to mass incarceration. There is no rational reason why a blackmail baby born today has a one in four chance of ending up in jail. That is a disgrace. And together, we are going to bring justice to a broken criminal justice system. Amy we will have more on super tuesday after the headlines. In the latest expansion of the u. S. Led campaign in iraq and syria, the pentagon has disclosed the United States is waging new forms of cyberattacks against isil as well as secret Commando Missions on the ground. Speaking at a pentagon news conference, defense secretary ash carter said u. S. Led forces would increase their support for iraqi troops attempting to retake the city of mosul. Because of our strategy and our determination to accelerate our campaign, momentum is now on our side and not on isils. In partners on the ground iraq have retaken ramadi and are making gains in anbar, while at the same time we are making operationally significant strides in our campaign to dismantle isil in syria. Amy a saudi official has told Reuters News Agency defense ministers from the u. S. Led Coalition Fighting isil have discussed the possibility of a ground incursion in syria. Such a move would mark a major escalation in the u. S. Led campaign which has so far , involved airstrikes and arming syrian rebels. State Department Spokesperson john kirby said the United States would welcome the possibility of a saudi ground force in syria but theres a lot of homework th needs to be done. Meanwhile, refugees fleeing iraq, syria, and other countries are facing restrictions that borders in europe. On the greekmacedonian border, refugees stormed a border fence, pulling away barbed wire as Macedonian Police fired tear gas into the crowd. Thousands of refugees, many of them from iraq and syria, have been stranded in northern greece as countries further along their migration route have heavily restricted passage. Abdullah, from the syrian city of aleppo, is among those stranded. I am suffering. Im slowly dying here. Amy residents of frances largest refugee camp have staged a sitin, refusing to leave after riot police and work crews closed in to demolish their makeshift shelters and evict up to 3000 people. Riot police fired tear gas on protesting refugees monday and overnight, and a number of tents were set ablaze. The camp is called the jungle. French authorities want the refugees moved to shipping containers at the site, where aid groups say there is not enough space or dispersed Centers Across france. In indiana, a federal judge has blocked republican governor mike pences order blocking state agencies from helping Syrian Refugees to resettle in the state. Aid groups in indiana have continued their efforts to resettle refugees, despite indianas attempt to withhold funding earmarked for the purpose. More than two dozen states have taken action to block Refugee Resettlement programs. U. S. District judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled monday indianas order clearly discriminates against refugees. Argentina has reached an agreement to pay u. S. Hedge funds that have sought for 14 years to profit off the countrys debt. The hedge funds bought up argentinas debt for bargain prices after its financial crisis, then demanded full repayment. Former argentine president Cristina Fernandez de kirchner had refused to pay the firms, calling them vulture funds. But under the new rightwing president mauricio macri, argentina has agreed to pay 4. 65 billion to four hedge funds, including elliott management, run by billionaire paul singer. The deal would see the hedge funds take about 75 of what they demand up from argentina. That is several times more than what they actually paid for the debt. In a victory for privacy advocates, a federal judge has rejected an fbi request to force apple to unlock a drug dealers iphone. Mondays ruling came hours before apple and the Obama Administration face off in a congressional hearing today over apples refusal to help the fbi break into the iphone of one of the San Bernardino massacre suspects. That is in a separate case. Justice Clarence Thomas has broken a decadelong silence during arguments at the Supreme Court. Thomas asked a series of questions in apparent defense of gun rights during a case on Domestic Violence and gun control. The remarks monday came exactly 10 years and one week after Justice Thomas last question and just over two weeks after the death of justice antonin scalia, who was known for dominating the Supreme Court arguments. This comes as the court is set to hear arguments wednesday on the most important abortion rights case in more than 20 years. Alabama has banned cities and towns from raising their minimum wage. The legislation, signed by Governor Robert Bentley late last week, blocks an ordinance passed by the city of birmingham to raise the citys minimum wage to 10. 10 an hour. Alabama abides by the federal minimum wage of 7. 25 an hour, just over 15,000 a year for a fulltime worker. In salt lake city, utah, hundreds took to the streets demanding answers after police shot and critically injured a 17yearold somali refugee. The teen, abdi mohamed, was shot twice in the torso. Police say he and another person attacked someone with metal sticks and refused calls to drop them. The victim of the alleged beating did not require medical care. Police have so far refused to release footage from the officers body cameras. Meanwhile in raleigh, north carolina, a Police Officer shot and killed an African American man while he was trying to flee arrest. A witness told local news the officer opened fire after he fell trying to follow the suspect as he fled over a fence. The man has been identified as akiel denkins, a father of two. Police say a gun was found but have not said if it was denkin gun or if he threatened the officer. And in virginia, an Army Staff Sergeant has been arraigned for killing his wife and a Police Officer who responded to the scene. Ronald hamilton admitted killing his wife, crystal, and then opening fire on police, killing 28yearold Prince William county officer ashley guindon. It was guindons first day on the job. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Super tuesday has arrived. It is the biggest primary day in the president ial race. Republicans and democrats each go to the polls in 11 states. About a quarter of all delegates are at stake. The five republican president ial candidates will compete in contests in alabama, alaska, arkansas, georgia, massachusetts, minnesota, oklahoma, tennessee, texas, virginia, and vermont. Democratic voters will decide between their two candidates in similar states, except alaska, but also in colorado and american samoa. Recent polls show billionaire donald trump could win as many as eight of the 11 states. Trump has won three out of the four caucuses and primaries to date. His lead heading into todays contests comes as his campaign is under increasing fire after he refused to disavow an endorsement from david duke, a prominent white supremacist and former kkk leader. This is donald trump, speaking sunday in an interview with cnns jake tapper. Just so you understand, i dont know anything about david duke, ok . I dont know what youre even talking about with White Supremacy are white supremacists. I dont know. I dont know, did he endorse me or what is going on . I know nothing about david duke. I know nothing about white supremacist. Youre asking a question im supposed we talking about people that i know nothing about. I guess the question from the Antidefamation League is, even if you dont know about their endorsement, there are these groups and individuals endorsing you, would you just say unequivocally, you condemn them and you dont want their support . Well, i have to look at the group. I dont know what group youre talking about. You would not want to condemn a group i know nothing about. I have to look. If you would send me a list of the groups, i will do research on them and certainly, i would disavow if i thought there was something wrong. The ku klux klan . Give me a list of the groups and i will let you know. Im just talking about david duke in the ku klux klan here, but. Honestly, i dont know david duke. I dont believe ive ever met him. Amy trump posted a video on twitter of himself disavowing david duke. He told the today show his refusal to disavow duke on a very bad earpiece. That is what he blamed it on. Trumps comments have prompted several rounds of protests during his recent rallies. On monday, he reportedly ordered secret Service Agents to remove about 30 black students from his rally in georgia who were quietly standing on the bleachers. They were told to leave the gop frontrunners event. At another rally on monday in virginia, black students were removed after they chanted no more hate. No more hate. Lets be equal, lets be great. As the protesters were being ejected, trump complained they had interrupted him, and asked, are you from mexico . Meanwhile, Trumps Campaign has also come under fire from highlevel military officials, including former cia director michael hayden, who recently told hbos bill maher that if trump were elected president , its possible u. S. Military officials would refuse to follow his orders. Trump has pledged to reinstate forms of torture, including water boarding, and other practices he said were so much worse. He has also repeatedly called for killing the family members of terrorists a practice that violates the geneva conventions. Well, to discuss Trumps Campaign, were joined by two guests. Here in new york, we are joined by mychal denzel smith is a writer for the nation whose latest piece is, trumps racism didnt scare me. Now it does. And zaid jilani joins us from washington, Staff Reporter at the intercept. His new article is, neoconservatives declare war on donald trump. We welcome you both to democracy now so you say trumps racism didnt scare you, now it does. What has changed for you . He started to be a viable candidate for the presidency. At first, we all sort of wrote him off as a sideshow, as a distraction to who was going to be the actual republican nominee , that he was just a form of entertainment and his hubris was allowing him to stay in this race. But the longer this has gone on in the more support he has garnered and the more further that he is excited and aroused and sort of the aggrieved white thespace, he has become front runner. As it shakes out right now, is a likely nominee, given that he has already won three states and looking to sweep or to get a lot of wins today on super tuesday. It is going to be likely to be trump. What bothers me about that, you could write these things off , asre as he speech, as vile disgusting rhetoric that he supported, but now he is going to be in a position where he could very well be the person to exercise that sort of hate speech and rhetoric with institutional power backing him. Amy i want to go for a second to another of the controversies. There are many. We were just talking about david duke in the kkk, whether or not he disavowed their support for him. Donald trump also declined to distance himself from a Benito Mussolini quote he had retweeted. On sunday, chuck todd of nbcs meet the press questioned trump about the tweet. Right now on twitter, there is a trending retweet of yours, fromeach we did someone 2016, a mussolini quote, but you did not know it was mussolini when you reach we did it. Better to live one day as a lion than 100 days as a sheep. You reach we did that famous mussolini quote. Did you know it was mussolini . Its ok to know was mussolini. Mussolinis mussolini. It is a very good quote. It is a very interesting quote. I know who said it. But what difference does it make whether it is mussolini or somebody else . It is an interesting quote. It is probably why do you want to be associated people can talk about it. Do you want to be associated with a fascist . Know, i want to be associated with interesting quotes. Amy that was donald trump defending the retreating of Benito Mussolini. Mychal denzel smith . This speaks to the ignorance that donald trump does represent, a man of unremarkable intelligence. He does not know that is a muslim and does not care. Mussolini quote and does not care. He does not care about the idea of truth or consistency or anything. It appeals to people. It is winning over an electric come of turning out people who identify with that. It is troubling to me that we have the sort of regression in our politics that donald trump can probably be ignorant and still be the republican front runner. Klanthis discussion of the and david duke, it has become runofthemill. But talk about what this group is, the klan and david duke and what they represent. The kkk is a terrorist organization. The Domestic Terrorist Organization that has existed in the United States since the end of slavery. They have terrorized like bodies throughout their existence. That was our whole purpose. At the onset of reconstruction them a their formation was to ensure that the rights that black people were an hour being the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment and the Civil Rights Act at that time, or to ensure that White Supremacy reigned supreme,