Trump delivers restrained victory speech with teleprompter
Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump stood behind a podium at his golf club in Westchester and gave the speech that many of his Republican allies have been hoping for: sober and trying to sell his policy ideas on trade, foreign policy and job creation. It was to be the beginning of a new chapter moving into the general election.
"Just remember this, I'm going to be your champion," Trump said. He literally entered the room to the sound of Queen's "We Are The Champions" blasting.
But that didn't tell the whole story.
The environment surrounding the Trump candidacy has been perilous. The election night speech came amid a stormy backdrop, as a chorus of Republicans spent the last 96 hours walking sideways away from him - denouncing his attacks on the ethnicity of the Hispanic federal judge presiding over Trump University lawsuits, Gonzalo Curiel. One prominent Republican, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), in a tough re-election fight, even rescinded his endorsement of Trump on Tuesday. Speaker Paul Ryan called his comments "racist."
Trump gave the speech with the assistance of teleprompters, which he has previously derided for being a tool of entrenched politicians. He has even called for banning them for presidential candidates. The Tuesday evening speech was noticeably different than the free-wheeling, informal Trump at rallies. He outlined some of his key talking points on the stump - that he would fight for "the American worker" and that in regards to his foreign policy, the "we will never enter into any conflict unless it makes us safer as a nation."
For this speech, Trump didn't make a single mention of any of the key pillars of his platform: That he would temporarily bar Muslims from coming into the country, would deport every single undocumented immigrant that is currently residing in the United States and build a wall along the Southern border to keep them out.
He has given these types of measured election night remarks before - giving Republicans hope in the past that he was ready to become the general election nominee needed to win the White House. Each time, a new firestorm has erupted soon after.
Trump did, however, focus some firepower on Bill and Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton clinched the Democratic nomination Monday, CBS News reported. The Clintons, Trump said, have "have turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves."
He announced that he would be giving a speech next week entirely focused on the Clintons' history.
"I wonder if the press will want to attend," Trump said. "Who knows?"
Trump paused and then launched into another attack on the presumptive Democratic nominee.
"Hillary Clinton turned the State Department into her private hedge fund," Trump said.
Trump also attacked Clinton for having "invaded Libya, destabilized Iraq, unleashed ISIS, and threw Syria into chaos." He left out that he is on the record having supported both the Libyan intervention and the Iraq War before the invasion. He even admitted to "Face The Nation" anchor John Dickerson on Sunday that he supported some form of intervention in Libya.
Trump addressed the topic of the Republicans who have lambasted him over his comments on Curiel. Roughly an hour after his remarks ended, Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity in an interview airing Tuesday and Wednesday. He told angry Republicans to "get over it."
"There's a lot of anger, I guess," Trump said. "Anger. They can't come back. They can't get over it. So, they have to get over it, ideally. As to whether or not they endorse me? It's okay if they don't. But, they have get over it, they shouldn't be so angry for so long."
Trump might not be leaving upset Republicans with much choice other than to "get over it." Most top Republicans, like Speaker Ryan, have said that they still believe Trump is a better choice than Clinton, even if they are calling his comments "racist."
The interview with Hannity might not do much to assuage Republicans weary of defending his controversial statements.
As Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake said, after announcing that he too could not support Trump as the nominee currently, "Let's face it: meet the old Trump -- just like the new Trump."