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March 20, 2016 by Eric Bradner Welcome to the CNN Politics Nightcap, and good Sunday evening from Washington. President Barack Obama just touched down in Havana, opening a new chapter in the U.S. relationship with Cuba. Mitch McConnell pledged to block Obama's Supreme Court nominee -- even in a lame-duck session. And Donald Trump swatted away the latest round of questions about violence at his campaign events. Your bartender is Eric Bradner (http://www.cnn.com/profiles/eric-bradner?cid=nl_pol_071915_profile?sr=nl_pol_072215_bradner) . The tip jar: night...@cnn.com (mailto:night...@cnn.com) . ** McConnell: No Supreme Court confirmation in lame-duck session ------------------------------------------------------------ Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ruled out confirming President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, in a lame-duck session after November's election. In an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" on Sunday, the Kentucky Republican stuck by his stance that Obama's successor ought to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. "I can't imagine that a Republican majority Congress in a lame-duck session after the American people have spoken would want to confirm a nominee opposed by the NRA, the NFIB, and The New York Times says would move the court dramatically to the left," McConnell said. Asked whether he's ruling out the possibility of a lame-duck confirmation entirely, McConnell said: "Yes." Harry Reid punches back: The top Senate Democrat said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he expects McConnell to back down -- and told Garland so. "Mitch McConnell has said a lot of things. But his Republican senators are not going to go over that cliff with him. They're not going to do it. As I told Merrick Garland, 'This is going to break. You're going to become a Supreme Court justice.'" My story (http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/20/politics/mitch-mcconnell-supreme-court-donald-trump?sr=nl_pol_032016_mcconnellgarland) . ** Trump brushes aside latest episode of campaign-event violence ------------------------------------------------------------ A day after a protester was punched and kicked by an audience member while being escorted from a Donald Trump rally, the Republican front-runner had little sympathy. "These are not innocent lambs," he said in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week." Trump added that "we don't condone violence," but said that protesters are "stopping our First Amendment rights." He said: "When signs are put up, lifted up with tremendous profanity on them, I mean the worst profanity, and you have television cameras all over the place and people see these signs, I think maybe those people have some blame and should suffer some blame, also." For the second time in two weeks, Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was caught on camera physically reaching for someone at a Trump event. This time, he'd grabbed the collar of a protester Saturday night. But Trump brushed Lewandowski's involvement in security aside. "I give him credit for having spirit. He wanted them to take down those horrible profanity-laced signs," Trump said. More from CNN's Jeremy Diamond and Noah Gray (http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/19/politics/trump-campaign-manager-protester?sr=nl_pol_032016_trumplewandowski) . On Trump's docket Monday: A potentially tough sell in front of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. He wants a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, and as for the specifics, he promised Stephanopoulos he'll be "defining that tomorrow." Trump said: "I think making a deal would be in Israel's interests. I'll tell you what, I don't know one Jewish person that doesn't want to have a deal, a good deal, a proper deal, but a really good deal. But I would say it's probably one of the toughest deals." All five remaining candidates will appear in a CNN town hall. Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will all be interviewed live between 8 and 11 p.m. Buzzing One baby bald eagle hatched on Friday at the National Arboretum in Washington, and a second hatched Sunday. Vice President Joe Biden's wife Jill Biden welcomed (https://twitter.com/DrBiden/status/711582545620680704) them to the world. Last Call ** Obama arrives in Cuba, hopes visit will usher in change ------------------------------------------------------------ >From CNN's Kevin Liptak >(http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/20/politics/obama-cuba-arrival-change?sr=nl_pol_032016_obamacuba) > : President Barack Obama touched down in Cuba on Sunday, definitively ending >a half-century of estrangement in a dramatic personal demonstration of his >core foreign policy principle of engaging America's enemies. It's a shift that >the change-minded President hopes will nudge the Communist government here to >grant more freedoms to its people and open new economic channels for American >businesses. The President and his allies also hope a successful détente will >offer something bigger: a lasting example of diplomacy's power in dealing with >longtime foes. ** Utah and Arizona test whether Trump has a Mormon problem ------------------------------------------------------------ >From John King's Inside Politics forecast >(http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/20/election-center-2016/ip-forecast-320?sr=nl_pol_032016_ipforecast) > : Look at the map of Donald Trump's primary victories and one fact is >indisputable: He has run very well in states where evangelicals are a critical >GOP constituency. That has been a deep source of frustration for Ted Cruz, the >son of a Christian pastor, who was counting on evangelicals to rally to his >candidacy. As the calendar turns West, though, Trump faces a test with another >conservative religious group: Mormons, members of the Church of Jesus Christ >of Latter Day Saints. CNN's MJ Lee noted that Cruz has already performed well in the West, and is hoping to build on that this week in Utah and Arizona. "Remember that Trump lost Idaho and Wyoming. Both are states with substantial LDS populations. And I think it's worth pointing out also that Utah and Arizona are coming up, and Trump is not polling so well in Utah. And the fact that he has been going after Mitt Romney, in fact, mocking Romney, probably is not going to help him there." ** Coburn, Perry cited as conservatives plot anti-Trump strategy ------------------------------------------------------------ The New York Times' Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin report (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/us/politics/donald-trump-republican-party.html?ref=politics&_r=0) that Republican leaders are plotting their anti-Donald Trump strategy. These are the components: A fight to defeat him in Wisconsin on April 5; a delegate-by-delegate strategy to win over those uncommitted, especially those won by Marco Rubio and from states such as Colorado and Pennsylvania that leave many up for grabs; and potentially a true-conservative third-party bid from someone such as former Sen. Tom Coburn or former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. But they're prepared to fight him on the Republican National Convention floor in Cleveland. “The burden is on Trump, not the party, if he fails to clinch the nomination,” David Winston, a Republican pollster who advises the House leadership, told Burns and Martin. “He has presented himself as the ultimate dealmaker, and it’s on him to close this one.” Straight Up ** "I think it’s wonderful because the Indians can now partake in the future of the country." ------------------------------------------------------------ ** -- A sarcastic (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/opinion/sunday/will-trump-be-dumped.html?_r=0) Donald Trump to The New York Times' Maureen Dowd, on the criticism he's faced from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, mocking her famous self-description (http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/05/is-elizabeth-warren-native-american-or-what/257415/) at Harvard. ------------------------------------------------------------ Tipsy Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry's son Griffin Perry, who had stoked (https://twitter.com/griffperry/status/711576715261247492) speculation of Perry as a third-party conservative alternative to Donald Trump with a Saturday tweet suggesting a Trump/Jeb Bush ticket and noting that the two would have no trouble raising money. He was quoting Jeff Miller, a former Perry adviser. Closing Time Ann Kirkpatrick could give Arizona Sen. John McCain the toughest (http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/273634-mccain-faces-toughest-reelection-of-his-career) re-election fight of his career. ... The Anti-Defamation League is pumping the $56,000 Donald Trump has given it into anti-bias (http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/20/politics/adl-trump-contributions-anti-bias?sr=nl_pol_032016_adltrump) efforts. ... North Carolina Democratic Senate hopeful Deborah Ross is trying (http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/can-north-carolina-democrat-become-next-kay-hagan) to become the next Kay Hagan. 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