With Queen’s “We Are the Champions” trumpeting in the background, Donald Trump took to the stage to deliver the final speech of his primary campaign.
Trump spoke from a teleprompter at a rally at the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester, N.Y., something he has only done a few times during the campaign. This made for a more traditional speech. His remarks had structure and a unifying theme, instead of the normal mix of asides and tangents that have colored most of Trump’s speeches. The content was also more traditional — a clear attempt to bring in Republicans and independents who might still be unsure about voting for the New York businessman.
“You’ve given me the honor to lead the Republican party to victory this fall,” he said. “I understand the responsibility of carrying the mantle, and I will never ever let you down.”
Trump quickly shifted gears, promising to address what he deemed a “rigged” political system before zeroing in on his likely opponent in November, Hillary Clinton.
“The Clintons have turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves,” he said, promising to follow up on these attacks in a speech next week. “The last thing we need is Hillary Clinton in the White House, or an extension of the Obama disaster.”
Trump made a play for disaffected Sanders’ supporters, saying that he would welcome that cohort “with open arms.”
Though the speech was generally short on policy, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to getting out of what he calls bad trade deals, to curbing illegal immigration, and to an end to neoconservative military interventions.
Compared to the candidate’s post-primary speeches, his comments on Tuesday were fairly sober. It’s anyone’s guess if this is the kind of Trump we will see in the general election campaign to come.