Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, was scheduled on Sunday to mark his attempted political comeback by denouncing Joe Biden for “the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history”.
Trump would make his first speech since leaving the White House at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, where an effusive reception was guaranteed.
The twice-impeached former president was about to unleash suppressed frustration after two months of silence on social media – he was banned by Facebook and Twitter for incendiary comments – and just a handful of TV interviews.
According to excerpts shared with the Guardian by Trump’s post-presidential office, he planned to make it clear that he intends to remain a political force by declaring: “I stand before you today to declare that the incredible journey we started together four years ago is far from on.”
“We all knew that the Biden government would be bad – but none of us imagined how bad they would be, and how far they would go … Joe Biden had the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history.
And adding: “Biden’s radical immigration policies are not just illegal – they are immoral, they have no heart and they are a betrayal of our nation’s fundamental values.”
Trump also intended to ask Biden to reopen schools, despite continuing security fears due to the coronavirus pandemic. And he planned to present himself as the flagship of a Republican party that defends “American working families – of all races, all colors and all creeds”.
The ex-president was expected to invoke his nationalist agenda “America first” by insisting: “We believe in taking on China, ending outsourcing, bringing back our factories and supply chains and ensuring that America, not China , dominate the future. ”
Despite the recent bipartisan vote in his impeachment trial, where he escaped condemnation, Trump says the Republican Party is “united”, according to the excerpts. “The only divide is between a handful of political hacks from the Washington DC establishment and everyone across the country.”
Most commentators expect Trump, 74, to leave open the possibility of running for re-election in 2024 without making a final commitment. He remained a striking presence at CPAC, with speaker after speaker swearing allegiance to him and his “Make America great again” agenda, while a golden calf-style idol in his image was even paraded through the convention halls.
Numerous speakers and panels also gave in and promoted Trump’s blatant lie that the election was stolen from him. Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow who faces a $ 1.3 billion defamation lawsuit from an electronic ballot box maker because of his false conspiracy theories, was seen giving interviews to the media at the event.
Matt Schlapp, president of the American Conservative Union, who heads the conference, said: “CPAC is your first opportunity to see what really happened on election day. And there was widespread electoral fraud in many states, especially in large cities run by the Democratic machine. This is a fact and we have given you evidence to emphasize that fact. “
Tom Fitton, president of the right-wing Judicial Watch group, told participants: “On election day, President Trump had the votes to win the presidency. These vote totals were changed due to the extraordinary and unprecedented count after election day. Judicial Watch has long warned of chaos and the increased risk of fraud due to the reckless sending of a hundred million ballots and voting requests. ”
These claims have been repeatedly proven false. Postal voting increased due to the coronavirus pandemic, but state officials, including Republicans, did not report significant irregularities. The former president and his allies lost more than 60 legal challenges, including those assessed by Trump-appointed judges. Trump’s attorney general, William Barr, dismissed the allegations of fraud.
For all the talk about party unity, the CPAC was notable for the absence of former Vice President Mike Pence, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and other leading Republicans.
On Sunday, Bill Cassidy, a Republican senator from Louisiana, insisted that the CPAC does not represent the entire Republican party. “Now, if we intend to win in [midterm elections in] 2022 and [the presidential election] in 2024, we have to listen to voters, not just those who really like President Trump, but also those who may be less certain, ”he told CNN’s State of the Union program. “If we worship a person, we will lose. And that was very clear in the last election. “
Watchdog Accountable.US condemned the CPAC for putting Trump on a pedestal, despite his role in inciting a US Capitol insurrection on January 6. Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US, said: “When Donald Trump receives a hero’s welcome at CPAC, it will be the largest gathering of sedition supporters since the Capitol rebellion itself.
“The more evidence that comes out of Trump’s guilt, the more conservative leaders join him. Trump lit the match for the uprising, and CPAC leaders obviously prefer to continue stoking the fire for as long as possible. “
Back at the previous conference, Robert Unanue, the chief executive of Goya Foods, said to the participants: “It is an honor to be here. But my greatest honor today will be – I think we will be on the same stage – as, in my opinion, the real, the legitimate and the still current President of the United States, Donald J Trump. “