Former President Trump returned to the public spotlight on Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, making his first public speech since leaving office and since being acquitted in his Senate impeachment trial. Trump outlined his vision for the Republican Party, asked states to pass new electoral laws, sparked a possible dispute in 2024 and criticized President Biden’s first month in office.
Trump has indicated that he will remain active in Republican politics and said his “journey”, which began during his first presidential race, “is far from over.” The former president dispelled rumors that he was thinking of creating a third party.
“We have the Republican Party. It will come together and be stronger than ever,” said Trump. “Wouldn’t it be brilliant? Let’s start a new party – let’s split our vote, so you can never win. No, we are not interested in that.”
Trump said he believed the Republican Party was united and that the divisions within the party were “between a handful of political hacks from the Washington DC establishment and everyone across the country”. He said he will be “actively working” to elect Republicans who embody his vision for the party and told his supporters to donate to PAC if they want to help elect the candidates he supports, rather than other Republican groups.
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“We want Republican leaders who are loyal to voters and who work proudly for the vision I presented today,” said Trump, adding that it includes issues such as support for the military, promotion of “law and order”, “great trade deals and excellent education.”
Mr. Trump attacked some of his critics, including the seven Republican senators who voted to convict him in his impeachment trial. He also called on the 10 House Republicans who voted for his impeachment, including Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who Trump said was “a person who loves to see our troops fighting”.
“Get rid of them all,” Trump said of the Republicans who supported the impeachment.
The results of a conference poll revealed that 55% of respondents would vote for Trump for the Republican nomination if the election were held today. Nearly 7 out of 10 respondents said they want Trump to run for the next presidential election.
Trump attacked President Biden, saying his successor had “the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history” and harshly criticized his decisions on foreign policy, energy and immigration.
“In just a short month, we went from America first to America in the past,” said Trump. “There is no better example than the new and terrible crisis on the southern border.”
The former president also called for the schools to reopen and accused the Biden administration of serving the teachers’ unions.
“His insensitive indifference to working families is equally clear when it comes to the critical issue of getting America’s children back to school,” said Trump. “It’s the teachers’ union, it’s the votes and that shouldn’t happen.”
Trump’s appearance ended a conference that featured many Repubilcan Party leaders, including potential presidential candidates in 2024, saying the former president should continue to play a role in the Republican Party. Several speakers said that Republicans should not return to the policies of the pre-Trump era.
Participants burst into applause after Trump falsely suggested he won the 2020 election and said, “I might even decide to win them a third time.”
“With your help, we will retake the House, we will win the Senate and then a Republican president will make a triumphant return to the White House. And I wonder who it will be,” Trump said later.
During the conference, there were seven panels on the 2020 election and some speakers repeated false claims about widespread election fraud. Mr. Trump in his speech called for an end to voting without excuses for absences, strong voter identification laws and for the election to take place in one day. More than 40 state legislatures have introduced bills that would restrict access to voting, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
“We need integrity and electoral reform right away,” said Trump. He went on to falsely claim that the election was “rigged” and complained that the Supreme Court “did not have the courage or the courage to make the right decision” in a case that challenged the election results.
Trump and his allies lost more than 60 lawsuits after the election, and his own attorney general said there was no evidence of fraud at a level that “could have had a different outcome in the election”.
Earlier on Sunday, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a staunch ally of the former president, said he wants to see Trump run for president again in 2024.
“President Trump is the leader of the conservative movement. He is the leader of America’s first movement. He is the leader of the Republican Party,” said Jordan. “And I hope that on January 20, 2025 he will once again be the leader of our great country.”