WASHINGTON — Now that it's game on with Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump will try another pivot.
The Republican nominee-in-waiting will seek to move past days of turmoil over his attacks on a federal judge by scheduling a series of fundraisers, speeches, and other events designed to unify a now-divided Republican Party and organize an aggressive campaign against Clinton.
Marking the end of the Republican primaries with an unusually formal speech — complete with teleprompter — Trump told supporters Tuesday night that "we close one chapter in history and we begin another," and he vowed to properly carry the "mantle" of Republican leadership.
"I will make you proud of your party and our movement, and that's what it is, is a movement," Trump said.
The carefully choreographed speech came as some Republicans re-affirmed their opposition to Trump, underscoring party divisions over a nominee who has never held public office and spent much of his campaign attacking prominent members of the GOP.
“To those who support Mr. Trump, I understand disagreeing with him and still supporting him because he’s the party nominee," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "I get that. But if he continues this he’s really dishonoring that support."
Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who faces a tough re-election battle in his home state, rescinded his endorsement of Trump, saying he lacks the temperament to be president.
Republicans across the country are expressing concern about Trump.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, one of the candidates vanquished by Trump in the Republican presidential race, had pledged to back the party nominee, but sounded equivocal this week. “It’s just sad in America that we have such poor choices right now,” he told WKOW-TV of Madison.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., delivered a blunt message to Trump: "It's time to quit attacking various people that you competed with or various minority groups in the country and get on message."
Trump will try to do that in the days and weeks ahead.
On Friday, the New York businessman has a speech scheduled before a meeting of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, a prominent group of conservatives. Trump and aides are also organizing fundraisers and rallies in Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas and other states in the weeks ahead.
The presumptive nominee will also be evaluating potential running mates and preparing for the Republican convention that opens July 18 in Cleveland.
Trump himself previewed a speech he's expected to give next week devoted to "all of the things that have taken place" with Clinton, a former secretary of State, and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, saying they have used their public offices to enrich themselves.
"Hillary Clinton turned the State Department into her private hedge fund," Trump said.
Hillary Clinton, who declared victory in the Democratic race Tuesday night with a series of primary wins, will return the favor to Trump, saying his reckless comments about foreign policy and personal attacks on women, Hispanics, and political rivals render him temperamentally unfit for the presidency.
"He wants to win by stoking fear and rubbing salt in wounds, and reminding us daily just how great he is," Clinton said in her victory speech late Tuesday.
This is not the first time Trump has tried to pivot. He and aides pledged a more presidential demeanor as he closed in on the Republican nomination with a string of primary wins in late April and early May.
In the following weeks, the New York businessman picked up endorsements from once-skeptical Republicans and moved up in polls against Clinton.
Then came the judge flap.
In recent days, Trump said that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel — who is presiding over a fraud lawsuit against the now-defunct Trump University — may be biased against him because of his "Mexican heritage." Trump said his criticism of immigration from Mexico and his pledge to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico may be unduly influencing the judge, comments that inspired accusations of racism from across the political spectrum.
While the candidate has vowed to stop discussing the Trump University case — noting it is scheduled for trial in November — many Republicans and conservatives question whether he can really change.
Hugh Hewitt, a prominent conservative talk show host, called on the Republican Party to change its convention rules and allow delegates to consider alternatives, saying: “It’s like ignoring stage-four cancer. You can’t do it, you gotta go attack it."
He added: "We're gonna get killed with this nominee."
In pledging to open a new chapter, Trump said he knows that "some people say I'm too much of a fighter," but his "preference is always peace."
He added: "If I'm forced to fight for something I really care about, I will never, ever back down and our country will never, ever back down."
Contributing: Deborah Berry
