Orlando, Florida – Former President Donald Trump is due to deliver the keynote speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Sunday afternoon, while he and his allies intend to guide the Republican Party leadership after his presidency.
Trump has made several public statements since leaving office, including calling Fox News to discuss the death of radio legend Rush Limbaugh and the car accident of his friend Tiger Woods. But the speech, scheduled for 3:40 pm, will be his first extensive public speech.
Trump is expected to attack President Biden on immigration, Keystone XL and Big Tech, said a source close to the former president. He must also walk “up to the line to advertise another campaign”, without really committing himself.
The former president will pledge to remain in the Republican Party instead of opening a new party in a speech that is expected to last up to 90 minutes or more, which will also chart a “path” to resume Congress in 2022.
“We are not starting new parties, and we are not going to share our power and our strength. Instead, we will be united and strong like never before, ”says Trump, in an excerpt from the speech obtained by Fox News.
ARCHIVE – President Donald Trump walks on the south lawn of the White House in Washington, Sunday, November 29, 2020, after stepping down from Marine One. (AP Photo / Patrick Semansky)
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He must bring to light his disappointment with Congresswoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Who has been criticized by several CPAC participants for her vote for Trump’s impeachment in January.
Trump will be among an extremely friendly crowd. MAGA hats are ubiquitous at the conference – there are even some people wearing “Students for Trump” yarmulkes. People can pick up Trump goods at various kiosks. And there is even a huge gold statue of Trump wearing shorts with the American flag and holding a star-shaped wand in the center of the CPAC.
Trump’s allies flooded the annual Republican confabulation and made it clear that they expect the Republican Party to remain the Trump party, despite some Republicans who intend to distance themselves from the former president.
“I think without a doubt” the Republican Party is still the Trump party, Donald Trump Jr., told Fox News shortly after his speech. “I think you hear it by the voices. I think you see it in the speeches of others who are in the government. I see it in the setback you see from some of those who have been the opposite of that in recent weeks. I think it is very clear. And it should be. Putting America first shouldn’t be controversial. “
During his speech on Friday, Trump Jr. referred to the CPAC as TPAC, probably meaning “Trump Political Action Conference”.
FILE – President Donald Trump speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center on February 29, 2020 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images)
“I imagine it will not be what we call a low-energy speech,” said Trump Jr. of his father’s speech.
The CPAC schedule on Sunday, notably, lacks the kind of heavy hitters from the GOP that were on schedule on Friday and Saturday. Trump would be considered the favorite for the 2024 GOP nomination if he were to run. But many other potential candidates were at CPAC.
Among them were Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Rick Scott, R-Fla., South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
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Among those in the CPAC, many seemed to prefer DeSantis to the Republican nomination, although they liked the former president.
“I think President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. He is still the leader, even if he is not president – at least of our party,” said Val Biancaniello, who was Trump’s delegate in Pennsylvania at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
But, Biancello said, “I really like Ron DeSantis in ’24. If the CPAC theme is ‘America not canceled’, I think Ron DeSantis is really the face of it now … He’s a proactive governor instead of a reactive governor. “
Meanwhile, the non-Trump presidential candidates themselves made a point of showing deference to the former president.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference held at the Hyatt Regency on February 26, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
“This is to define, I think,” Hawley said of Trump’s role in the future of the GOP in an interview with Fox News Friday.
Cotton also praised the former president during a conversation with Fox News.
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“One thing President Trump has done in the past five years is kind of redefining the views of many Republican politicians and helping them understand the views of Republican voters,” he said. “He helped to redefine the Republican agenda. We are now putting Americans first. We are facing China. We are defending our commercial interests to ensure that we are not just losing our prosperity.”
Scott added: “President Trump did something that had never been done in our lives. He stood up for the entire Washington system and said, ‘No’.”
The Republican Party “is not going to win the future by trying to get back to where the Republican Party used to be,” he said.
Senator Rick Scott, R-Fla., Told Fox News on Friday that he believes Republicans can win at least 4 Senate elections in different states in 2022.
US Conservative Union President Matt Schlapp emphasized in an interview with Fox News earlier last week that he believes Republicans will not succeed within the party if they are considered disloyal to the former president.
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“As a Trumper, you’re not going to get the Republican nomination,” said Schlapp.
The actual temperature of the conference will be measured when the results of the CPAC poll are released on Sunday. Schlapp said on Fox News on Saturday that there will be two separate polls in the straw polls – one with Trump on the field and one without.
Either way, the 2024 presidential campaign will begin, if not officially, unofficially, when Trump takes the stage on Sunday at an event that will be quite similar to one of his raucous campaign rallies.
Adam Shaw, Paul Steinhauser, Mark Meredith and John Roberts of Fox News contributed to this report.