--- title: Morning Must Reads: March 31 description: Morning Must Reads: March 31 canonical: https://time.com/4277606/would-the-gop-rather-lose-with-cruz/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-31T13:02:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:21:49.262Z article:section: Politics og:title: Morning Must Reads: March 31 og:description: Morning Must Reads: March 31 og:url: https://time.com/4277606/would-the-gop-rather-lose-with-cruz/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Morning Must Reads: March 31 twitter:description: Morning Must Reads: March 31 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Would the GOP Rather Lose With Cruz? by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Mar 31, 2016 1:02 PM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Mar 31, 2016 1:02 PM UTC If **Donald Trump** goes on to win the GOP nomination, he will do so as a historically unpopular candidate both in his party and nationwide, largely because of weeks like this one. A series of incendiary statements—even for him—delivered Wednesday have only cemented the growing opposition to his candidacy. He repeatedly stated that women who undergo illegal abortions should be punished, a position rejected by most pro-life groups who only want to punish the provider, before flip-flopping in a matter of hours. Trump went on to blame the Geneva Conventions for the U.S. military’s troubles dealing with ISIS. This came on top of mind-bending comments Tuesday on nuclear nonproliferation. With party leaders dumbfounded, a growing movement is willing to dump Trump at the convention, even if it means losing in the fall. They argue that Trump, because of his deficits with women and minority voters would lose anyway, and they’d rather have the candidate who won’t sabotage their down-ballot hopes. FBI Director **James Comey**‘s investigation into **Hillary Clinton**‘s emails make him one of the most influential people in 2016, whether he wants the attention or not. TIME’s Massimo Calabresi profiles the bureau’s fiercely apolitical leader as he spearheads one of the most politically consequential investigations in years. **Bernie Sanders** may be off the DC primary ballot on a technicality. **Ted Cruz** opposes changing the GOP’s convention rules. And facing long odds in Wisconsin, Clinton turns to New York. Here are your must-reads: **Must Reads** [Donald Trump Backs ‘Punishment’ for Women Who Get Abortions, Then Backtracks ](http://time.com/4276862/donald-trump-abortion-ban-punishment/)TIME’s Tessa Berenson on Trump’s latest flip-flop [The FBI Chief on the Trail of Hillary’s Emails ](http://time.com/4277521/the-g-man-the-emails-and-hillary/)What James Comey’s investigation reveals could change the course of the election, TIME’s Massimo Calabresi reports [Why America’s Largest Voting Bloc Isn’t Voting for Trump ](http://time.com/4277515/why-trump-is-losing-americas-largest-voting-bloc/)The Republican frontrunner has a woman problem \[TIME\] [Trump Wants to Free the Nuclear Genie ](http://time.com/4276960/trump-wants-to-free-the-nuclear-genie/)Policy would mark a major, and dangerous, shift in U.S. foreign policy, TIME’s Mark Thompson writes [Will the GOP Try to Lose With Cruz? ](http://time.com/4277495/will-the-gop-try-to-lose-with-cruz/)Torpedoing Trump could split the party, but many Republicans think it’s worth it \[TIME\] **Sound Off** “There has to be some form of punishment.” — Donald Trump in an MSNBC town hall Wednesday saying there should be punishments for women who undergo abortions if he is successful in overturning Roe v. Wade. Within two hours he flip-flopped saying only the provider should be punished, adding, “My position has not changed.” “Once again Donald Trump has demonstrated that he hasn’t seriously thought through the issues, and he’ll say anything just to get attention. … Of course we shouldn’t be talking about punishing women; we should affirm their dignity and the incredible gift they have to bring life into the world.” — Ted Cruz on Trump’s comments **Bits and Bites** [What Life Is Like for Prisoners After Their Sentences Are Commuted](http://time.com/4276920/what-life-is-like-for-prisoners-after-their-sentences-are-commuted/) \[TIME\] [Donald Trump Releases Odd Letter on Tied-up Tax Returns](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-releases-curious-letter-tied-tax-returns-n548261) \[NBC\] [15-Year-Old Girl Assaulted at Donald Trump Rally, Police Say](http://time.com/4276221/donald-trump-wisconsin-protest-pepper-spray/) \[TIME\] [Here Are 30 Times Donald Trump Has Said Something That Could Have Sunk Another Candidate](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/03/30/here-are-30-times-donald-trump-has-broken-the-rules/) \[Wall Street Journal\] [Bernie Sanders May Be Off DC Ballot After Democratic Party Filing](http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Bernie-Sanders-Faces-Ballot-Trouble-in-DC-After-Registration-Snafu-374042381.html?%5Fosource=SocialFlowTwt%5FDCBrand) \[NBC Washington\] [Cruz Opposes Changing GOP Convention Rules](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2IoafjouNw&feature=youtu.be) \[YouTube\] [Wisconsin’s Largest Paper Blasts Clinton on Transparency](http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/milwaukee-journal-sentinel-criticizes-hillary-clinton-221390) \[Politico\] [Shifting From Wisconsin, Hillary Clinton Tells New Yorkers That She’s One of Them](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/us/politics/shifting-from-wisconsin-hillary-clinton-tells-new-yorkers-that-shes-one-of-them.html?em%5Fpos=medium&emc=edit%5Fcn%5F20160331&nl=first-draft&nl%5Fart=2&nlid=55003713&ref=img&te=1&%5Fr=0) \[New York Times\] Morning Must Reads: March 31 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4277606/would-the-gop-rather-lose-with-cruz/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4277606/would-the-gop-rather-lose-with-cruz/"},"headline":"Would the GOP Rather Lose With Cruz?","datePublished":"2016-03-31T13:02:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:21:49.262Z","description":"Morning Must Reads: March 31","url":"https://time.com/4277606/would-the-gop-rather-lose-with-cruz/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4277606/would-the-gop-rather-lose-with-cruz/","name":"Would the GOP Rather Lose With Cruz?"}}]}] ```