First at a convention center in Tampa, Florida, and then in an airport hangar outside Pittsburgh, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee tore into fellow Republicans who have been slow to back him, again dashing hopes among some in the party that Trump would exclusively train his fire on his likely general election foe.
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Trump will need to turn out white voters in the Upper Midwest in numbers that far exceed those in past presidential elections.
Some Republicans fear Trump will do even worse.
“The guy is a stone-cold loser”, Trump said.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee spoke to thousands of supporters in Tampa and jabbed at not only Warren but also prominent Republican Mitt Romney, who recently accused Trump of being racist and misogynistic.
Can Trump boost his standing with minorities?
Clinton last week clinched the nomination and won President Barack Obama’s endorsement.
To try to keep Trump, who is notoriously resistant to advice, on track, some on his team are turning more to his grown children – Eric, Don Jr. and Ivanka, as well as Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner – in the hope that they can exert influence.
That would put victory all but out of reach in states such as Florida, Nevada and Colorado, where Hispanics are a fast-growing segment of the electorate. “We have a lot of good people”.
Trump is being sued by former students of Trump University who claim there were defrauded by the school, in a case that is being overseen by Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who Trump has disparaged over his “Mexican heritage”.
Trump has refused to apologize for his comments about the judge, saying instead that his comments were “misconstrued” and insisting in recent days that he is the “least racist person there is”. Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee in 1964, did blacks in that election. “I will do everything I can to make sure Donald Trump doesn’t become president of the United States”.
For Trump, that means NY and California, two of the three biggest electoral prizes.
Chip Lake, a Republican strategist in Georgia, takes a dim view of Trump’s bravado, arguing that the candidate should concentrate on shoring up Republicans and conservative independents. “And he’s just heightened the issue”.
Mitt Romney has practically tattooed “Never Trump” across his forehead, denouncing the reality television star in speeches and interviews for months.
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“We’re going to do it a little different, if it’s OK”, he told the crowd.
