If you saw Crystal Pepsi on the store shelves this afternoon and considered that a shocker, you’d better be sitting down if you’re watching Donald Trump’s rally in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday night.
Trump’s high-level campaign shakeup kicked off the news at sunrise Wednesday and dominated social media all day long. Is it possible the Charlotte speech is the first sign that the Trump campaign has been rebooted? It’s only fair: how many times to Hillary Clinton kick off her campaign before deciding she’d finally gotten it right?
Oh, this is definitely a new Trump.
— Kathleen McKinley (@KatMcKinley) August 18, 2016
Oh this is the new new new Trump.
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) August 18, 2016
WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH DONALD TRUMP?
— ?.?. ?????? (@intelwire) August 18, 2016
It's like buying a ticket to a Broadway show and getting an understudy in a lead role
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) August 18, 2016
First things first: the teleprompter looks like it’s going to play a much bigger part in the campaign going forward.
If you're keeping count, Trump is using a teleprompter for the third time this week. Hasn't given a single off-the-cuff speech yet.
— Ginger Gibson (@GingerGibson) August 18, 2016
Prepared text of Trump's speech includes an expression of regret for his campaign rhetoric pic.twitter.com/4gHQyCvXcj
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) August 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/Heminator/status/766425595102175232
It is something to see the man most famous for punching back owning up to not choosing the right words in the heat of debate and expressing regret for any personal pain he had caused. No, really, Trump said that.
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Trump in NC: 'Sometimes in heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or say the right thing.'
— Byron York (@ByronYork) August 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/766419634937561088
Under new management: @realDonaldTrump says he regrets saying the wrong thing esp when it caused personal pain.
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) August 19, 2016
Trump tone change: Sometimes in heat of the moment you do not say the right things or choose right words. I have done that + I regret it.
— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) August 18, 2016
This isn't the bare-knuckle brawling we were promised.
— BT (@back_ttys) August 18, 2016
Wow! @realDonaldTrump had his Wheaties this morning. Delivering a solid speech in Charlotte. #NeverHillary
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) August 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/ZhidoBandera/status/766420883472867328
Donald Trump: Sometimes "you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing" https://t.co/6OZtrfIwim https://t.co/wgdLsdIQmp
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 18, 2016
Donald Trump: "Believe it or not, I regret it" when I say the wrong thing https://t.co/6OZtrfIwim https://t.co/7Tdri8DJ12
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 18, 2016
Well … believe it? Or not? The press is calling it “incredible,” and the crowd at the rally is enthusiastic. The audience is also falling into the familiar chant of “Lock her up,” but Trump seems to be letting that one slide by. (He did acknowledge a chant of “Build the wall!”)
Charlotte crowd warmly responds to this new Trump — and they're not nearly as rowdy or fired up as most crowds. His tone has set the tone.
— Jenna Johnson (@wpjenna) August 19, 2016
Not that he’s going easy on his opponent. Now that he’s cleared the decks with his sort-of apology, he’s going after Benghazi and those emails.
Trump using his apology speech to ask why Clinton has never "apologized" for email practices and other past mistakes.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 18, 2016
Trump: "So while sometimes I can be too honest, Hillary Clinton is the exact opposite: she never tells the truth."
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) August 18, 2016
Trump in NC: 'Tell me, has Hillary Clinton ever apologized for lying about her illegal email server and deleting 33,000 emails?'
— Byron York (@ByronYork) August 18, 2016
Trump: Has Hillary apologized for pay-for-play at State? Benghazi? Iran? Iraq? ISIS?
— Byron York (@ByronYork) August 18, 2016
If this had been the convention speech…
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) August 18, 2016
If he could hit this tone in his debate with Hillary…
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) August 18, 2016
The real question: Will Trump regret expressing regret?
— Ashley Parker (@AshleyRParker) August 18, 2016
You tell us. Donald Trump certainly didn’t vault to the front of the pack during the primaries by pulling his punches, but those were the primaries and the general is approaching quickly. One thing’s pretty certain: the Hillary Clinton campaign isn’t going to like the new approach.
https://twitter.com/jdelreal/status/766426070799253504
Killer Trump speech containing empathy, regret, strength & cutting change contrast w/ Hillary.
But it's just 1 night. Can he replicate?
— David Catanese (@davecatanese) August 19, 2016
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