A restrained Donald Trump tries reaching out to GOP critics
BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y — Donald Trump has long said he can be presidential if he wants to be, and on Tuesday, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee tried. He kicked off his general election campaign with one of the most measured speeches yet, in which he cast himself as a “champion” of the American people who is better positioned than Hillary Clinton to lead the country.
Reading from a teleprompter — something he has criticized Clinton and others for using — Trump laid out a lengthy attack against the former secretary of state, describing her as a career politician who has sought to personally profit from her years in public service. Among other things, Trump said Clinton had “turned the State Department into her private hedge fund” and that she made “hundreds of millions” by selling access to special interests.
Trump said Clinton, if elected, would be a “disaster” for the country.
“We can’t solve our problems by counting on the politicians who created our problems,” Trump declared, addressing a few hundred supporters at a golf club he owns here. “The Clintons have turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves.”
The Manhattan billionaire announced that he would make a longer speech about the Clinton record next week. At the same time, he made a direct appeal to the supporters of her rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, saying he was a victim of a “rigged system” in the Democratic primary.
“To those who voted for someone else in either party, I will work very hard to earn your support,” Trump said.
Slideshow: The campaign for primary day, June 7 >>>
For Trump’s campaign, Tuesday presented yet another potential turning point. But it was unclear if the candidate would truly embrace it. Many times in recent months, Trump has delivered careful remarks, stoking speculation that he was shifting to a more conciliatory and disciplined posture for the general election — only to revert back into the raucous say-anything mode that has propelled his unlikely progress toward the GOP nomination.
His speech came after several rough weeks for his campaign. Although he became the presumptive GOP nominee more than a month ago, in what many Republicans welcomed as a head start on Clinton, Trump has struggled to make the transition from the primaries to the general election. He has repeatedly subjected his campaign to largely self-inflicted wounds that many believe have made his path to November more difficult.
While Trump claimed victory over his GOP rivals in part because of his simple, positive promise to “Make America Great Again,” his stump speeches have grown muddled in recent weeks. Instead of advancing his policies or offering new details about why he would make a better president than Clinton, Trump has used many of his campaign appearances to air personal grievances against members of his own party and other critics.
Seemingly rankled that he has yet to get the credit he believes he deserves for defeating more than a dozen Republican primary rivals, Trump has used his rallies over the last month to rehash in detail how he emerged victorious in the primary. He’s continued to mock his defeated GOP foes, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who have yet to endorse him.
And though he’s repeatedly insisted he can unite a splintered Republican Party, Trump has also maintained that he doesn’t need the support of his GOP critics.
In Albuquerque, N.M., last month, Trump tore into New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who had skipped his rally. Trump called her a failed governor and suggested that maybe he should run for her office. Martinez, a rising star in the party who heads the Republican Governors Association, has been critical of Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, which she implied could hurt the party’s outreach to Latinos.
Trump aides have tried to rein in their boss in hopes of presenting a more controlled message. But he has often undercut his own staff. Last week, he held a rambling press conference about his donations to veterans’ charities. He used the occasion to blast reporters who questioned if he was too thin-skinned to bear the scrutiny that comes with being the GOP nominee.
On Monday, Trump undermined his own staff again, as they attempted to quiet the furor over his racially tinged remarks about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing a case involving Trump University. His campaign had reportedly sent a memo to surrogates ordering them to stop talking about the case, but Trump overruled the directive, which he described as “stupid” advice, and ordered supporters to continue attacking the judge. “Take that order, and throw it the hell out,” Trump said of his campaign’s talking points, according to Bloomberg News.
On Tuesday, hours after House Speaker Paul D. Ryan rejected Trump’s language about Curiel as the “textbook definition of racism,” Trump issued a statement claiming that his comments about Curiel had been “misconstrued as an attack on Mexican heritage.” He insisted that he was merely fighting for the right to a fair trial.
In his election-night remarks, Trump made no mention of this controversy. But he seemed to acknowledge his troubled standing with many in his own party and the need to turn the page. Flanked by members of his family, Trump thanked those who had voted for him and pledged to make Republicans, even those who had not supported him, “proud of our party and our movement.”
“I understand the responsibility of carrying the mantle, and I will never ever let you down,” Trump said. “Too much work, too many people, blood sweat and tears, never going to let you down.”
Related video:
