22:06

Two days after he became the presumptive Republican nominee, Trump was in high spirits as he wore a hard hat on stage and mimed the work of a coal miner, reports the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs:

Donald Trump holds a miner’s helmet. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Becoming the presumptive Republican nominee has not changed Donald Trumpat all.



In a rally in Charleston, West Virginia in front of roughly 13,000 screaming attendees, the newly minted Republican nominee took a victory lap. Trump proclaimed “I wish the primaries would keep going but I am the only one left” and celebrated by repeatedly urging his supporters to not even bother voting in West Virginia’s upcoming primary and instead “save your vote for the general election in November”.

Two days after Ted Cruz suspended his campaign, effectively ending the Republican primary, Trump was in high spirits as he briefly wore a hard hat on stage and mimed the work of a coal miner. In a state where coal mining is still an important industry, Trump repeatedly emphasized his commitment to the industry.

He told the crowd, “I’ll tell you a little secret. I’ve always been fascinated by the mines,” speaking in front of a backdrop of uniformed coal miners holding signs that read “Trump digs coal”.

In lieu of his typical attacks on primary opponents – calling Cruz “lyin’ Ted” and criticizing the way John Kasich eats food – Trump pivoted his vitriol toward Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee. He made veiled reference to former president Bill Clinton’s liaison with Monica Lewinsky in the White House and said of the Clinton Foundation, “the whole thing is a scam”.

Trump made no mention of the criticism that he is receiving from inside his own party.