DETROIT (AP) — The Republican establishment and its last best hopes to defeat Donald Trump spent a long and extraordinary day denouncing the billionaire businessman as dangerous, a "phony" and a "con man" unfit for office. Then, when it was all over, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and John Kasich swallowed hard and said they'd support Trump if he wins the GOP nomination.
Their pained commitments, at the end of the 11th GOP debate on Thursday, put into sharp focus the dilemma the Republican Party faces as Trump continues to dominate the race for delegates and the campaign conversation.