Trump Gives Speech Hinting at Big Speech on Clinton

In advance of Donald Trump's 9pm speech at the Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, NY, he tweeted, "I will be speaking about our great journey to the Republican nomination"; the media marveled that he would be speaking with a teleprompter for what CNN proclaimed was only the third time ever. He did both on Tuesday, walking in to Queen's "We Are the Champions," and then seemingly sticking largely to a script that swung at Hillary Clinton and emphasized putting "America first," explaining what that means in terms of foreign, trade, economic, and immigration policy. Five standout lines:

1. "Tonight we close one chapter in history and we begin another. Our campaign received more primary votes than any GOP campaign in history. ... I understand the responsibility of carrying the mantle, and I will never never let you down."
2. "To all to those Bernie Sanders voters who have been left out in the cold by a rigged system of superdelegates, we welcome you with open arms."

3. "Now I know some people say I'm too much of a fighter. My preference is always peace, however. ... But if I'm forced to fight for something I really care about, I will never back down and our country will never back down."
4. "I am going to give a major speech on probably Monday of next week and we're going to be discussing all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons and I think you're going to find it very informative and very, very interesting." He referenced Clinton having "turned the State Department into her own private hedge fund."
5. "Together we are going to put the American people first again. We will make our communities wealthy, we will make our cities safe again, we will make our country strong again. Ladies and gentlemen, we will make America great again."

(More Donald Trump 2016 stories.)