Trump back to being Trump

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump ditched the more genteel tone he’d recently adopted during a rowdy rally in Rhode Island on Monday.

Trump referred to fellow candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich by unflattering nicknames and at one point suggested Cruz was a “pain in the ass.”

{mosads}He also made fun of Kasich’s “disgusting” style of eating and repeatedly mocked Cruz, who he said had no chance of defeating him.

The overall tone was a departure from the Trump seen on the stump over the last two weeks, who had been referring to Cruz as “Senator Cruz” and Kasich as “Governor Kasich.” It was a continuation of a trend, first spotted over the weekend, of the more bombastic style that has been a success for the GOP front-runner. 

At his Rhode Island rally on Monday, Trump said he had a new nickname for the Ohio governor: “One for 41.” It’s a reference, Trump said, to Kasich’s rate of success in primaries and caucuses around the country.

At another point in the rally, Trump went after Cruz’s Senate performance, describing him as a failed Senator who was all talk and no action.

Trump ridiculed Cruz, acting out an imaginary conversation between Senators while Cruz was conducting one of his famous filibusters.

Trump said, “And the other Senators are like, ‘When’s he getting off the floor, Jim?’

“The guy’s a pain in the ass.”

He also suggested that the media covering him were more dishonest than “Lyin’ Ted” — a nickname he has used for Cruz.