Former President Donald Trump teased a possible run in 2024, slamming the Biden administration at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday when he delivered his first public speech since leaving the White House less than six weeks ago.
Trump was greeted with a standing ovation as he took to the stage in Orlando to declare that “our movement … has only just begun.”
“I stand before you today to declare that the incredible journey we began together four years ago is far from over,” Trump said to the enthusiastic audience.
“Our movement of proud hardworking American patriots has just begun,” he said. “And in the end we will win!”
While making it clear that he intends to remain a force in the Republican Party, Trump hinted at a possible 2024 run for president.
Referring to the Democrats, he said, “I may even decide to beat them a third time,” which drew deafening cheers from those in attendance.
Trump smothered rumors that he intended to start a new political party as ‘fake news’.
“We have the Republican Party,” Trump said. “It will unite and be stronger than ever before.”
“We are not starting new parties. You know, they kept saying, ‘he’s going to start a brand new party’. We have the Republican Party, which will unite and be stronger than ever before. I’m not starting a new party. That was fake news. Fake news. No. Wouldn’t that be great? Let’s start a new party and split our vote so you can never win. No, we are not interested in that. “
He also took a hit at his successor, claiming that President Biden has had the “most disastrous first month than any president in modern history.”
“We all knew the Biden administration was going to be bad, but no one knew how bad they would be,” Trump said.
“There is no better example than the new and terrible crisis on our southern border,” he continued. “In just one short month, we went from America to America first.”
Trump argued that Biden’s immigration policy would cost the Democrats the next two federal elections.
‘We are one country. We cannot afford the world’s problems, ”he said. “As much as we would like to – we would be happy to help. We cannot do that. So they all come because of promises and silly words. “
The ex-president also called for the country’s schools to be reopened, charging that Biden had “sold out American students to the teachers’ unions.”
“Joe Biden has shamefully betrayed American youth, and he cruelly keeps our children locked up in their homes for no reason at all, they want out,” Trump said.
“They are deceiving the next generation of Americans from the future that they deserve and they deserve this future,” he continued. “They will grow up, and they will be scarred … the mental and physical health of these young people is reaching breaking point.”
“On behalf of the mothers, fathers and children of America, I call on Joe Biden to open the schools and get them open now,” Trump said to applause.
He also praised his government’s work to get a coronavirus vaccine ready, saying, “Never let them take credit, they just follow our plan.”
Trump beat up the Biden administration on claims that it was “starting all over” to develop a national vaccine distribution plan because the former president had left them nothing.
Biden said we didn’t have the vaccine. Now, I really think he said that because he didn’t know what was going on, ‘Trump joked.
Trump returns to the national spotlight to close the four-day annual conference in Orlando as Republicans hope to regain majorities in the House and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections and win the White House in 2024.
Leading up to Trump’s much-anticipated remarks, a parade of possible Republican presidential hopefuls – including Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz – as opening acts over the weekend to ignite the CPAC crowd for the one-time commander in chief.
Since leaving office on January 20, Trump has been at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, meeting former campaign officials and Republican lawmakers as he lays the groundwork for a political comeback for himself and the GOP.