Plans of former President Donald Trump to reaffirm his leadership of the Republican Party and harshly criticize President Biden for an early focus on immigration policy and “identity politics” in his Sunday speech, the first major speech of his post-White House life.
Although the ex-president is expected to call on some of his greatest critics, including Congressman Liz Cheney, he has no plans to announce a 2024 campaign to win back the presidency, a senior Trump adviser told CBS News.
Mr. Trump’s very anticipated speech in Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida it will serve as the formal launch of an unprecedented moment in modern American history: since Grover Cleveland lost his candidacy for reelection in 1889, a one-term president has left office by cultivating and encouraging a large number of political followers.
“We are in unfamiliar territory because no other single-term ex-president in modern times has ever had so many followers after the elections,” said the senior adviser, who asked not to speak frankly.
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Trump’s comments in Orlando should focus on two main pillars: first, strong attacks on Biden and concerns that the Democratic Party’s far left is controlling the White House and administrative policy. Second, Trump will focus on his hopes for the future of the Republican Party and the conservative movement.
The former president, who used to rely on social media to expose his complaints and attack rivals, is expected to use his comments on Sunday to settle some accounts.
“There is a very good chance that some of these Beltway elites will have their names verified,” said the senior adviser. But, “Kevin McCarthy is not one of those.”
The senior adviser vehemently contested a Politico report on Saturday that McCarthy, the minority leader in the House, is once again in the sights of the former President because he continues to defend Cheney, the Wyoming congressman and the House’s third Republican. Cheney is among only a handful of national Republican leaders who vehemently denounced the former president’s words and actions before the January 6 uprising on the United States Capitol. In the weeks that followed, she continued to express her hope that the party would continue after Mr. Trump.
Although the former president and McCarthy are getting along, the senior adviser said, “There is a 99.99% chance that Liz Cheney will be mentioned.”
As for Trump’s thoughts on Biden, “immigration will be like issue one, two and three – amnesty, preventing the walls from being constricted and expanding the access of refugees from dangerous countries,” said the senior adviser.
But the ex-president must also attack the Biden government’s failure so far to oversee a national reopening of schools and he will vehemently defend the Trump administration’s work to help finance the development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
“He will defend his work with the vaccine and will be as subtle as a two by four about it,” said the senior adviser.
In recent weeks, Biden incorrectly said that there was “no real plan to vaccinate most of the country” under the Trump administration, a claim he rejected in recent public comments on vaccine development. Trump is likely on Sunday to praise his government’s “Operation Warp Speed”, which provided government funding for the development of the private sector of COVID-19 vaccines that are now being produced and distributed worldwide.
Trump is also expected to train his anger over the initial use of executive authorities by the Biden government to halt the multi-billion dollar construction of a new wall along the US-Mexico border; lift historically low limits on the number of refugees that can be admitted to the United States each year; and plans to extend protection to tens of thousands of people with Temporary Protection Status in countries like El Salvador, Haiti and Syria.
The senior adviser said the former president is also concerned about the Biden government’s initial focus on diversity and combating systemic racism in society.
“The effort they have been making, like social engineering nonsense, is what worries the ex-president,” said the aide.
Mr. Biden took the first steps to fulfill campaign promises to promote racial equality, diversity and the rights of gay and transgender people. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order determining an “ambitious equity agenda for the entire government”, designed to address concerns about systemic racism and the lack of diversity in federal policymaking and hiring. The government is also taking steps to rewrite federal forms and documents to offer or mention gender-neutral options. Biden also reversed the Pentagon’s ban on transgender members of the military.
The White House also praises the historic diversity of the Biden Cabinet and government hires, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the first African American to lead the Pentagon; Xavier Becerra, about to be the first Latin to lead the Department of Health and Human Services; and Rachel Levine, nominated to serve as deputy for Becerra, who would be the first transgender openly confirmed by the Senate.
In his comments, Trump must ignore concerns about a potential Republican civil war and express his belief that party bases are firmly in his corner, with only a handful of party leaders opposing his continued supervision of the party.
Trump is also expected to focus his time on the party’s need to win back seats in Congress next year. He has already joined the fray, endorsing one of his former advisers, Max Miller, who launched a primary challenge against Ohio Republican Congressman Anthony Gonzalez on Friday. Gonzalez is one of 10 House Republicans who voted in January for Trump’s impeachment.
Part of the reason that Trump does not plan to announce a rematch with Biden is that for the time being he is launching several political entities designed to help elect Republican candidates for congress and governor next year – and keep his own options open.
His 2020 campaign committee has been converted and renamed to PAC Make American Great Again and is now linked to PAC Save America, of which the former president has sent statements and political endorsements. They are linked by a joint fundraising committee that will raise funds to finance the two entities that, among other things, can donate to Republican Party candidates and pay for the former president’s political travels.
Mr. Trump is also preparing to launch a super PAC that will be overseen by a former intermittent political advisor Corey Lewandowski and other associates who would head a board of directors, including possibly former small business manager Linda McMahon, according to the senior advisor.
“It is very clear that he is best placed to lead the party,” said the senior adviser. “He is the one who has vision, he is in charge of the issues and he is able to offer the sharpest contrast to the Democrats. The speech will make it clear that he is better prepared for this.”