Trump hits New Mexico governor, calls Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas"
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Outside, protesters were overrunning barricades - and at least one entrance to the event space had its windows smashed. Inside, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump was telling protesters to "go home to mommy."
It was quite the return to the campaign trail for the businessman and if there was any lingering hope for Republicans that there is a Trump 2.0 coming, once again, Trump dashed that notion. Instead, it was a return to form for a man who has made significant strides in polls against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Trump held court in Albuquerque, New Mexico for more than an hour in front of thousands of rowdy fans and some protesters, who interrupted him a number of times. Some of the protesters had to be dragged out by security. For one of the disruptors, Trump said, "He can't get a date so he's doing this instead. Come on."
He threw the thought of Republican unity into the wind by bashing the state's Republican governor, Susana Martinez, who has been mentioned in some circles as a possible vice presidential pick.
"Since 2000, the number of people on food stamps in New Mexico has tripled," Trump said. "We have to get your governor to get going. She's got to do a better job. Okay? Your governor has got to do a better job. She's not doing the job."
Trump's criticism was likely in response to Martinez being fiercely critical of Trump since last summer. She called his comments about Mexican immigrants "completely and unequivocally wrong" and chose to skip this rally, citing a busy schedule.
And Trump had plenty more fierce barbs to go around. He repeatedly referred to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren as "Pocahontas," stemming from a flap that originated with her Senate campaign, in which she was unable to prove definitely that she had Native American heritage. Trump went on to call her a "total failure."
Warren, for her part, has been increasingly aggressive in taking on Trump. At the Center for Popular Democracy gala in Washington on Tuesday, Warren called Trump "small, insecure moneygrubber" who is "kissing the fannies of poor, misunderstood Wall Street bankers." Warren attacked Trump for continuing to refuse to release his tax returns.
"He didn't even get rich by building something terrific," Warren said. "He inherited a fortune from his father, and kept it going by scamming people, declaring bankruptcy, and skipping out on what he owed."
Trump also attempted to put another controversy to rest, stemming from his fundraiser for veterans' charities in January of this year. Trump repeatedly said that night and in ensuing rallies that he raised $6 million and pledged $1 million himself. In the months that followed, a number of media outlets found that there was no proof of this - and some charities were still waiting for the money. Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, told CBS This Morning on Tuesday that $4.5 million has already been "attributed" and that the total amount the campaign will give to veterans' groups will be "somewhere between $5.5 and $6 million total, which would be given to the veterans."
Trump told the Washington Post that he had picked a charity to donate his $1 million to on Tuesday, saying that the delay was a result of an extensive vetting process.
In New Mexico, he blamed the outcry over his charity pledges as a result of a "rigged system."
"I didn't have to do that," Trump said. "It had nothing to do with the evening. I was making a speech and I said let's raise some money. So all of a sudden, it's over $5 million dollars, and I said, 'That's great.' And all of a sudden this dishonest slime - they started writing stories. 'Why didn't this group get it? Why didn't the money go here? Why isn't the money going out fast enough?'"
"Number one, we have to vet some of these groups. We have to vet the vets, right? Why didn't it go out? And the money went out and it's about $5.6 or $5.7 million dollars out of nothing. We had nothing. And I was getting killed. I said. 'I am the only one that can raise more than $5 million dollars for the vets and get bad publicity.' I mean it was incredible."
A number of media outlets, including CBS News, attempted to track the disbursements of money and found that the money given out is approximately half of the money Trump said had "went out."