DAVE ROSS

After his excitement over a hard hat dies down, Trump becomes affectionate

May 6, 2016, 6:08 AM | Updated: 6:11 am

Donald Trump was much more affectionate after clinching the Republican nomination. (AP)...

Donald Trump was much more affectionate after clinching the Republican nomination. (AP)

(AP)

There IS a new Trump.

It was Donald Trump’s first big crowd since clinching the nomination. He was in West Virgina – coal country. Love was in the air.

Related: Trump to hold rallies in Washington state Saturday

“I’ll tell you a little secret. I’ve always been fascinated by the mines,” he said with a backdrop of coal miners.

The Coal Miners Association gave him a hat

“It’s a hard hat! It’s a hard hat!”

And he put it on, even though it messed up his hair.

““You’re not allowed to use hairspray anymore because it affects the ozone,” he explained.

But even with riffs like that, the speech was about 15 minutes shorter than usual because he couldn’t very well talk about the rigged system.

“You’ve been hearing me say, ‘It’s a rigged system.’ But now I don’t say it anymore because I won,” he said.

And there was no one to bully, no point in ridiculing “little” Marco or calling Ted Cruz nasty names. Now he loves them all.

“I love ’em, they’re fabulous people,” he said.

And he was even sort of nice to Hillary.

“We really affectionately call her crooked Hillary.”

She’s still crooked Hillary but in an affectionate way. So that squares him with women, and he also reached out to Hispanics with a special Tweet for Cinco de Mayo.

So that locks down the Hispanic vote.

It’s amazing. Victory seems to have turned him from a bully into a pussycat.

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After his excitement over a hard hat dies down, Trump becomes affectionate