Trump keeps his laser focus on nemesis Biden in subdued 18-minute Mar-a-Lago victory speech with VERY little celebration of his Super Tuesday rout: 2024 rivals have ALREADY put the primary behind them as they prepare for eight months of war

The counts in 15 states and a U.S. territory had not even finished on Tuesday evening but the message was clear: The Trump versus Biden rematch is already under way. 

Donald Trump, 77, and Joe Biden, 81, trained their fire on each other as Super Tuesday drew to a close. They barely paused to count their wins before taking aim.

'November 5th is going to go down as the single most important day in the history of our country,' said Trump in the glittering ballroom of his Mar-a-Lago club.

Biden laid out a similarly stark choice.

'Tonight's results leave the American people with a clear choice: Are we going to keep moving forward or will we allow Donald Trump to drag us backwards into the chaos, division, and darkness that defined his term in office?' he said.

'November 5th is going to go down as the single most important day in the history of our country,' said Donald Trump in the glittering ballroom of his Mar-a-Lago

Joe Biden said: 'Tonight's results leave the American people with a clear choice: Are we going to keep moving forward or will we allow Donald Trump to drag us backwards into the chaos, division, and darkness that defined his term in office?'

His delivered his words quietly in a written statement emailed out by his campaign.

Trump delivered his in a largely improvised speech in front of hundreds of raucous supporters who interrupted him at times with chants of, 'USA, USA, USA,' as his family looked on—albeit without former first lady Melania.

Yet this was far from Trump's carnival-barker persona that can keep a crowd energized for 90 minutes and more.

He spoke for 18 minutes in a tone that was at times subdued, as if the intense pace of juggling four criminal court cases, civil suits and a nationwide election campaign had caught up with him.

Biden, meanwhile, did not even bother making an appearance in the evening. He spent the day quietly preparing instead for Thursday's State of the Union address, it suggested two battle weary veterans readying themselves for another go-around.

Both swept to victory in statewide nominating contests across the country.

Trump won Republican votes in a dozen states, putting his last remaining rival Nikki Haley to the sword. She managed to pick up a win in Vermont, which may offer her enough hope to carry on with a campaign that cannot win, but pitches her as spokesperson for Trump-fatigued Republicans.

Biden was on course to win 15 states but also suffered a surprise defeat in the territory of American Samoa.

That left two candidates intent only on putting the nominating contests behind them.

Trump delivered his speech in the gilded splendour of Mar-a-Lago's Grand Ballroom

Biden delivered his statement in the form of a campaign email

Donald Trump Jr. was in the audience to hear his father speak on Super Tuesday

Mar-a-Lago was filled with fans and supporters for the watch party and speech

Trump and Biden both had good nights but suffered a surprise defeat each

Trump was laser focused on Biden in his speech, refusing to even mention Haley. He called Biden the 'worst president in history' and took particular aim at his border policies.

'It's sad to see what's happening to our cities,' he said. 'Our cities are being overrun with migrant crime, and that's Biden migrant crime.'

And he claimed the nation's standing in the world had fallen under his successor. 

So while Trump argued three and a bit years of Biden had ruined the nation, Biden warned of what Trump would undo if he allowed back into power.

'If Donald Trump returns to the White House, all of this progress is at risk. He is driven by grievance and grift, focused on his own revenge and retribution, not the American people,' said Biden.

'He is determined to destroy our democracy, rip away fundamental freedoms like the ability for women to make their own health care decisions, and pass another round of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy — and he'll do or say anything to put himself in power.'

Trump was watched by family members. From left to right: Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr. Tiffany Trump is on the far right but there was no sign of Melania

Hundreds of glamorous young men and women arrived to watch the results roll in and to celebrate the former president's expected avalanche of delegates

Trump supporters put on a show of force at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday night as they waited for the former president to deliver a speech on Tuesday evening

Both laid out what they see as huge stakes. 

Yet a 2020 rematch (the first repeat since 1956) is not one that excites voters. Both candidates have historically low approval ratings in opinion polls.

The winner could be determined by what pollster James Johnson called the 'double disapprovers'—voters who want a different choice. How many stay home or who they dislike least might decide the result in key swing states such as Georgia, Arizona, or Wisconsin.

However, Trump supporters insist there is one issue that can break the deadlock.

Tuesday's results and Trump's series of wins, shows that arguments on immigration can win out, according to Rep. Byron Donalds. 

'Whether you're a Republican voter, independent voter Democrat voter, securing our border is the number one issue in our country,' he said.

'And you can talk to people in New York, and Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Colorado, etc, they all are seeing the same thing.'