Hours after clinching the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump Thursday bashed President Barack Obama, said that he would "likely" consider a woman or minority for vice president — and refused to call on Hillary Clinton to quit the Democratic race because of the email scandal.
"I sort of like her in the race," Trump said of Clinton to reporters at a news conference in Bismark, N.D. "I want to run against her.
"This is all bad judgment," he continued, surrounded by North Dakota delegates that handed him the nomination. "Probably illegal. We'll have to find out what the FBI says about it.
"I just read the report. It's devastating. The report, it's devastating. And there's no reason for it. It's a very, very harsh report.
"It's shocking to see what she did and really more than anything else it's bad judgment — and it's up to her whether or not she wants to continue running."
The North Dakota delegates handed Trump the 1,237 he needed to win the Republican nomination. The milestone capped a tumultuous process that began with Trump's entrance into the race last June — eventually beating back 17 challengers during a primary process that included sometimes raucous debates and record voter turnout in races around the country.
"I'm honored," Trump said of reaching the milestone.
"The thing I think I'm most fond of … we were supposed to be going into July — and people said it wouldn't be solved in the convention," he added. "Here I am watching Hillary fight, and she can't close the deal. That should be such an easy deal to close.
"But she's unable to close the deal, so I'm watching her and we'll see what happens."
Regarding a vice presidential pick, Trump said that it was "likely" that he would consider a woman or minority running mate — countering a report quoting campaign manager Paul Manafort, who said such a move would be seen as "pandering."
"I think it's likely we would have somebody — and we don't do it for any specific reason," he said. "We're looking for absolute competence.
"I fully expect that we will have many women involved. I have had it with the campaign … and I think that you are going to see that and strongly. So I look forward to it."
He said that Manafort was "misquoted a couple of times" in the report, by The Huffington Post. "He has been a lot.
"But we'll have women involved at the absolute highest levels."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.