“And I do regret it – particularly where it may have caused personal pain”.
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In his remarks, Trump struck a new, inclusive tone and tried to appeal directly to non-white voters, who have so far resisted his candidacy.
In another sign of a new direction in the campaign, Trump on Thursday made an unusual admission of regret for some of his past comments.
In his presidential announcement speech previous year, he described some Mexican immigrants as “criminals and rapists”. He recently faced a barrage of criticism for belittling the family of a Muslim American soldier who died in Iraq in 2004, after the soldier’s father spoke out against Trump at the Democratic National Convention last month. While Clinton has spent more than $75 million on advertising in 10 states since locking up her party’s nomination, Trump’s new investment marks his first of the general election season.
“We learned tonight that his speechwriter and teleprompter knows he has much for which he should apologize”. “But that apology tonight is simply a well-written phrase until he tells us which of his many offensive, bullying and divisive comments he regrets – and changes his tune altogether”. In addition, Steve Bannon, the executive chairman of Breitbart News, was appointed as the new chief executive of his campaign.
In previous weeks, Trump has read prepared remarks at smaller events devoted to economic and foreign policy, including a Monday address in OH on fighting terrorism.
“This is about what is best for Donald Trump, what is best for the American people, and what is best to lay out his case that Hillary Clinton is not prepared to be president of the United States”.
Trump, in a statement, praised Manafort’s work on the campaign and called him a “true professional”.
“If you had had one of these things happen, it would have been survivable. I will never tell you something I do not believe”.
On Thursday, the AP reported that it had obtained emails revealing further details: Manafort’s deputy in the Trump campaign, Rick Gates, directed an unregistered influence campaign that included attempts to gain positive press coverage for Ukrainian officials, sway USA legislators, gather political intelligence and undercut American public sympathy for the imprisoned rival of Ukraine’s then-president.
Taken together, the moves suggest a candidate still straining for a way to win a White House race rapidly slipping out of his reach.
Manafort and business associate Rick Gates, another top strategist in Trump’s campaign, were working in 2012 on behalf of the political party of Ukraine’s then-president, Viktor Yanukovych. Or you say the wrong thing.
In addition to Bannon, Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway filled the campaign manager position left vacant since Trump fired his former campaign chief nearly two months ago. “We’ve got to get away from this content-free campaign and on to the substance”, she said.
Associates of Manafort said Friday that it was clear that he was taking a calculated risk by joining Trump’s campaign.
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During an event Tuesday near Milwaukee, Trump spoke about the need for “law and order” and to challenge what he described as a corrupt political establishment, themes he also hit during his speech in Charlotte.
