Donald Trump has dismissed talk of a brokered GOP convention, suggesting he was doing well enough to win the nomination outright.

“I don’t think we’re going to have a … brokered convention,” Trump said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning. “I think it’s unlikely. I think I’m doing better than that, and so far, you know, I’m really on my way.”

Close

Indeed, the odds of Trump’s winning the nomination now seem strong. As NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd pointed out, no Republican candidate has ever won South Carolina and Iowa or New Hampshire and not gone on to win the nomination. Trump has now done just that.

Nevertheless, the Republican front-runner — while noting his big advantage in the race — rejected the notion that the nomination is his. He credited his competitors for running tough campaigns.

But the real estate mogul did take the opportunity to go after Sen. Ted Cruz for his “dirty” tactics, including a robo call that was conducted on the morning of the South Carolina primary.

[lz_third_party includes=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhp7oamdVow”]

Trump claimed he didn’t expect such a large win in South Carolina.

“Well, I didn’t know I was going to win by so much yesterday — you didn’t, either,” Trump said to George Stephanopoulos, host of the ABC News program “This Week.” “Nobody thought I was going to win by that much. That was bigger than the polls,” added Trump.

On “Fox News Sunday” with Chris Wallace, Trump was pressed on whether or not he should tone down his rhetoric and act more presidential as he inches closer to the nomination.

“I think I’ll be very presidential at the appropriate time,” he said. “Right now I’m fighting for my life. I was fighting against a tremendous amount of very tough, very talented people.”

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

[lz_third_party includes=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er9_sajV3kM”]

Sen. Marco Rubio, who placed second in South Carolina by a narrow margin over Sen. Ted Cruz, took a shot at Trump’s less-than-specific policy proposals.

“If you’re running to be president of the United States, you can’t just tell people you’re going to make America great again,” Rubio said on “Face the Nation” on CBS. “We’re not going to win a general election with a candidate that refuses to detail policy.”

“Sixty-five percent of the people who voted yesterday and about 70 percent of Republicans around the country have said we want someone other than Donald Trump to be the nominee,” said Rubio on “Meet the Press.”

[lz_third_party includes=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95brD9hIKnY”]

Meantime, on the Democratic side, Sen. Bernie Sanders optimistically discussed his campaign and said on “Meet the Press” that he is in the race until the convention, making it clear he isn’t giving up.

Clinton faced tough questions regarding her trustworthiness and how she might overcome that obstacle with independent voters. She even acknowledged the problem directly. “I think there’s an underlying question that maybe is really in the back of people’s minds. And that is, you know, ‘Is she in it for us or is she in it for herself?'” said Clinton on “State of the Union.”

Going into Super Tuesday, the field will tighten as candidates now pull out all the stops to take a swing at the two front-runners, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.