Donald Trump roasts rivals in rambling, 40-minute press conference

Donald Trump on Thursday reaffirmed his willingness to debate Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and also said he was willing to face off with another political foe, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whom he derided as an “ineffective senator” with a “very big mouth.”

The presumptive Republican nominee further accused Warren of exaggerating her Native American heritage.

“She’s about as Native American as I am,” Trump said, repeatedly referring to Warren as “Pocahontas.”

He was speaking to reporters at a press conference in Bismarck, N.D., where he celebrated securing the 1,237 delegates he needed to clinch the Republican presidential nomination.

But the rambling, 40-minute event went well beyond that — touching on everything from his problem with wind energy (“Wind is killing all of the eagles,” Trump said) to what he insisted was his reluctance to discuss the death of Vince Foster, a close aide and friend to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Though multiple investigations concluded that Foster committed suicide, Trump recently called his death “very fishy.”

“I don’t think it is something that should really be a part of this campaign,” Trump said Thursday.

But Trump spent much of the press conference hammering his rivals, both Democrats and Republicans.

He mocked Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, for “not be able to seal the deal” against Sanders in their party’s primary. And echoing his Wednesday comments to late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, Trump said again that he’d be willing to debate Sanders. “I’d love to debate Bernie,” he said. “He’s a dream.”

But Republican candidate, who confirmed that his staff is having talks with Sanders aides on the subject, said he would only participate if it could raise at least $10 million for charity. Trump, whose critics frequently accuse him of sexism, suggested a charity geared towards women.

Trump said he would also be willing to debate Warren. “I’ll debate anybody!” he said. “I don’t care.”

As Trump ranted about Warren while using the “Pocahontas” nickname he branded her with several days ago, a woman interrupted. She told Trump that the moniker was offensive. “Is it offensive? You tell me,” Trump said with a smirk, repeating the nickname as he continued mocking Warren.

At the same time, Trump signaled he was willing to scald members of his own party who have yet to line up behind his campaign. Asked about his criticism of New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who has refused to endorse him and skipped his rally this week in Albuquerque, N.M., Trump shrugged it off. And while he said he had a “good conversation” with House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has also so far declined to endorse him, Trump sent an implicit message that he didn’t really need the support of any GOP leaders.

“I won the elections in landslides,” Trump said, ticking through his litany of primary wins. “We have had tremendous support from almost everybody.”