Trump shifts his tone, promises to make party proud

Author: The Hill

June 7, 2016 at 21:53

Donald Trump sought to reshape his candidacy on Tuesday night, using a teleprompter to deliver a carefully prepared address that cast the presumptive presidential nominee as a champion for ordinary Americans

The speech was clearly designed to reassure Republicans worried about the billionaire's candidacy after his remarks criticizing a federal judge provoked cries of racism within his own party.

“You’ve given me the honor to lead the Republican Party to victory this fall,” Trump said. “We’re going to do it, folks. I understand the responsibility of carrying the mantle and I will never ever let you down.”

“I will make you proud of your party and your movement,” he added.

The remarks come as Trump tries to move past one of the most explosive controversies of a presidential campaign in which he has repeatedly pushed the envelope, particularly on matters related to race and ethnicity.

Trump should be enjoying a victory lap on the last night of GOP primaries after steamrolling a deep field of Republican contenders and clinching the nomination a full month before Hillary Clinton was able to wrap up the Democratic nomination.

The billionaire businessman has shocked the political world and defied conventional wisdom at every turn, attracting tens of thousands of supporters to his massive rallies and energizing a conservative base that has thrilled at the prospect of an outsider who promises to dismantle the establishment.

But Trump on Tuesday instead found himself under siege f-rom Republicans and Democrats alike for comments he made about an Indiana-born federal judge being biased against him because he’s of Mexican descent.

Top Republican leaders f-rom House Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.) and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) on down have rebuked Trump.

Ryan said that Trump’s remarks are the “textbook definition” of racism, while McConnell demanded the likely GOP standard bearer “get on message.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a fierce Trump critic and former presidential candidate, is urging Republicans who have endorsed Trump to retract their support.

Democrats have branded Trump a racist and a bigot and sought to tie him to down-ballot Republican running for reelection, particularly in the Senate, whe-re the GOP is playing defense as it seeks to protect a fragile majority.

This latest controversy once again had Republicans expressing concern that Trump will be a disastrous general election candidate.

Republicans are upset that Trump is missing opportunities to go after Democrats for a weak economic recovery and Clinton over an inspector general report that called into question her use of a private email account and server.

They’re also worried that Trump’s rhetoric will cost them a generation of minority voters.

Trump has refused to apologize for the remarks about the federal judge.

But he released a statement on Tuesday that sought to at least put a lid on the controversy, saying that his remarks had been misconstrued by the media and that he wouldn’t discuss the matter further.

Still, Trump’s lengthy statement focused heavily on litigating the case pending against his eponymous university, leaving some frustrated Republicans to believe that Trump is focused more on his own business interests than on defeating Clinton in the general election.