The Donald strikes back
In first speech since election loss, Trump attacks ‘disastrous’ Biden... and leaves door open to run in 2024
DONALD Trump returned to the political stage last night to mock Joe Biden and settle scores in a fiery speech to grassroots US conservatives.
Some observers believe the speech in Orlando, Florida, could mark the start of a campaign to enter the White House again in 2024.
He was set to declare at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC): ‘The incredible journey we began together four years ago is far from over.
‘The Republican Party is united. The only division is between a handful of Washington DC establishment political hacks and everybody else all over the country.
‘The greater the challenge and the tougher the task the more determined we must be to pull through and win.’
The former US president was also expected to say: ‘Joe Biden has had the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history.’
According to notes from his speech, he wanted to ensure ‘that America, not China, dominates the future’.
Not since Grover Cleveland lost his re-election bid in 1889 has a one-term president left office with such a large political following.
In his first formal appearance since he left office last month, Mr Trump was reportedly planning to take aim at his successor, saying: ‘Biden’s radical immigration policies aren’t just illegal
– they are immoral, they are heartless, and they are a betrayal of our nation’s core values.’
His closing address at CPAC was expected to focus on attacking the Left wing of the Democrat Party – plus some fellow Republicans.
An aide told CBS it was an ‘almost certainty that a few of those elites will be name checked’ and shamed.
Among them is likely to be Liz Cheney, one of ten Republican representatives who voted to convict Mr Trump during his failed impeachment last month.
Mr Trump’s son Don Jr, told the conference yesterday: ‘I imagine it will not be a low-energy speech, and I assure you that it will solidify Donald Trump and all of your feelings about the Make America Great Again movement as the future of the Republican Party.’
Mr Trump has dominated CPAC, with senior Republicans lining up to express loyalty and spout his conspiracy theories about election fraud.
Polls show Mr Trump retains an iron grip on the Republican Party. Fox News said he would ‘walk right up to the line of announcing another campaign’ without actually committing. But even if he doesn’t run in 2024, he will play kingmaker.
During the three- day event, speakers have railed against ‘ cancel culture’ and Covid restrictions. Attendees have booed and shouted ‘Freedom!’ when asked by the staff of the Hyatt Regency Orlando to wear masks to prevent infection.
There is a civil war in the party among establishment figures who want him to disappear and grassroots supporters who adore him. Many of his fans took selfies with a 6ft gold-coloured sculpture of the ex-president called ‘Trump and His Magic Wand’. It shows Mr Trump holding a wand in his left hand, a reference to a joke Barack Obama made in 2016 that Mr Trump would need one to bring manufacturing jobs back.