Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump applauds after singing the National Anthem during a rally at the Anaheim Convention Center, Wednesday, May 25. | AP Photo Trump returns to campaign trail with new taunts, big promises After vowing to fight for California, the nominee ripped Romney, Kristol and even the beaten Jeb Bush.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail, and anyone who’d hoped his time away would produce a gentler, more conventional candidate is in for deep disappointment.

At a rally during which he promised “to make a big, big play for California,” Trump singled out more Republicans than Democrats for insults at the rally, dwelling at length on Mitt Romney and Bill Kristol, both of whom he deemed losers. Even Jeb Bush’s energy levels were back on the table.


In his return to the campaign trail after two weeks consolidating his position as the presumptive nominee, the New York billionaire was as full as ever of taunts for protesters, reporters, Democrats and even members of the party he will soon lead — all despite his promise last month to act “so presidential” after dispatching his primary rivals.

Now the candidate is pushing that timetable back, and voters who want civility from Trump will have to elect him in November to get it. “If and when I win, I’m going to be very nice, because it’s a question of good management,” Trump said.

On Wednesday, the New York billionaire said that Mitt Romney — who continues to oppose Trump’s candidacy — “begged” for his endorsement, and highlighted his opposition to Romney mounting a third run this cycle. “I understand losers. You can make a lot of money with losers,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Mitt can not run. He choked liked a dog.’”

Trump mocked neoconservative commentator Bill Kristol’s attempts to draft a third-party candidate to oppose him. “He’s been doing this for nine months. He can’t find anybody. What a loos-errr,” he said.

And he joked that Jeb Bush would eventually come around and endorse him. “He will get a burst of energy, and he will do it.” Trump explained that Bush had recently criticized him on television in Europe, alleging that Bush thought Trump would not find out about it, but the New York businessman did find out.

Before Trump took the stage, his ally evangelical pastor Mark Burns, raised the topic of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s reluctance to endorse Trump. The crowd booed at the mention of Ryan’s name.

It was not just Republicans who met a critical reception. Trump taunted a top American ally, Germany, for its handling of its Middle Eastern migrant crisis. “Great going, Germany,” he said sarcastically. “Great going. Great going.”

As he pivots to the general election, Trump continues to incite crowds at a Tuesday night rally in New Mexico to jeer “dishonest” reporters in the press pen — calling them “slime” — and to taunt protesters, one of whom, he joked, was “wearing diapers.”

Trump did not forget to attack his presumptive general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, whom a State Department inspector general’s report released earlier Wednesday criticized for using a private email server while secretary of state. “The inspector general’s report’s not good,” said Trump, who held out the possibility that legal troubles could still deprive Clinton of the Democratic nomination. “It could be that we’re going to run against crazy Bernie,” Trump said. “He’s a crazy man, but that’s OK. We like Bernie.”

Later, Trump charged that Clinton was unavailable to handle the 2012 attack on the American diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya. “She was sleeping, folks,” said Trump, who has claimed he gets only a few hours of fitful slumber a night and vowed Wednesday he would have no such problem in a crisis. “I don’t sleep much,” he said.

Trump did laud some members of his party — those who have been nice to him recently.

He praised Lindsey Graham for being courteous in recent a phone conversation even though Trump publicized Graham’s personal cellphone number last year.

And Trupm praised Rick Perry for recently describing him, in the mogul’s own words, as “Perhaps the smartest person ever to run for the presidency.” Added Trump: “Rick Perry is now on the team.”