- The Washington Times - Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump cast himself as an outside agent of “real change” and sought to reassure Republicans that he is prepared to lead the party into the general election fight against Hillary Clinton.

In uncharacteristic fashion, Mr. Trump read from a teleprompter and largely stuck to script, steering clear of the ongoing controversy he ignited over comments he made about a federal judge’s Mexican heritage, which has sparked cries of racism, and criticism from fellow Republicans.

“I understand the responsibility of carrying the mantle and I will never, ever let you down,” Mr. Trump said. “I will make you proud of your party and our movement.”

The message was clearly an attempt to move past the avalanche of bad headlines he earned after asserting that the judge overseeing a lawsuit against Trump University could be biased against him because of his Mexican heritage.

Mr. Trump focused Tuesday a lot of his attention on Mrs. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, insisting they have taken “politics of personal enrichment to an art form” and promising to deliver a speech next week that outlines what he sees as the Clintons’ dark side.

Mr. Trump pledged to put “America first” on foreign policy, trade and immigration, and said that he will work to bring people together ahead of the November election.

“My goal has always again to bring people together, but if I am forced to fight for something that I really care about I will never ever back down, and our country will never, ever, back down,” he said. “I fought for my family, I fought for my business, I fought for my employees and now I am going to fight for you the American people like nobody has ever fought before.”

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.

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