Time to back Trump: Republican donors accept the inevitable

Megadonors and media coalesce around Trump as challengers fall by the wayside - and Nikki Haley faces pressure to drop out

Vivek Ramaswamy urged the crowd to end the primary right here. Doug Burgum told them to think of safety and prosperity. Tim Scott posed a series of questions that culminated with: How many y'all want me to stop talking so you can hear from your next president, Donald J Trump?"

As the three failed US presidential candidates turned endorsers stood alongside Trump on stage in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Monday, the crowd chanted Four more years!" and the message to Republicans was clear: join us now or be cast into the political wilderness.