ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – For the first time since leaving the podium, former President Donald Trump called for unity of the GOP, even as he exacerbated the divisions by attacking fellow Republicans and promoting lies about the election in a speech that made it clear he intends to remain a dominant political force.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday, where he was hailed as a returning hero, Trump destroyed his successor, President Joe Biden, and tried to build a vision for the future of the GOP that revolves around him, despite his loss in November.
“Do you miss me already?” Trump said after taking the stage with his old rally soundtrack and cheers from the supporting audience.
Trump in his speech attempted to downplay the civil war gripping the party over the extent to which Republicans should embrace him, even as he unfolded a list of enemies, naming the 10 House Republicans and seven GOP senators who voted to impeach. or condemn him for inciting uproar at the Capitol. He ended up picking Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, who faced a massive backlash in Wyoming for saying Trump should no longer have a role in the party or star in the event.
While insisting that the division was just an argument “ between a handful of Washington, DC, establishment political hacks and everyone else, all over the country, ” Trump had a message for the incumbents who had dared to cross him: with ’em all. “
Held this year in Orlando rather than in the Washington suburbs to get around COVID-19 restrictions, the conference served as a tribute to Trump and Trumpism, complete with a gold statue in his likeness. on the display. Speakers, including many potentially hopeful for 2024, argued that the party should embrace the former president and his followers even after the deadly uprising at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
They also reiterated in panel after panel his baseless claims that he lost re-election only because of massive voter fraud, although such claims have been rejected by judges, Republican government officials and Trump’s own administration.
Trump, too, kept repeating what the Democrats called the “ big lie, ” calling the election “ faked, ” insisting that he won in November, even though he lost by more than 7 million votes.
“As you know, they just lost the White House,” he said of Biden, rewriting history.
It is highly unusual for US presidents to publicly criticize their successors in the months following their term in office. Former presidents usually step out of the spotlight for a while; Barack Obama was famously seen kite surfing on vacation after he left, while George W. Bush said he believed Obama “deserves my silence” and started painting.
Not Trump.
He sharply rebuked what he considered the new administration’s first month of failures, particularly Biden’s approach to immigration and the border.
“Joe Biden has had the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history,” Trump said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki had brushed aside anticipated criticism last week. “We’ll see what he says, but our focus is certainly not on what President Trump says at CPAC,” she told reporters.
Aside from criticizing Biden, Trump used the speech to crown himself the future of the Republican Party, even as many leaders argue that they should move in a new, less divisive direction after the Republicans not only lost the White House, but also both houses of Congress.
Although Trump has flirted with the idea of creating a third party, he promised on Sunday to remain a part of “our beloved” GOP.
‘I will continue to fight at your side. We are not starting new parties, ”he said. ‘We have the Republican Party. It will be strong and united like never before. Still, Trump spent much of the speech lashing out at those he deemed insufficiently loyal, calling “RINOs” – Republican in name only – because they did not support him.
“We cannot have leaders who show more passion for condemning their fellow Americans than they have ever shown by standing up to Democrats, the media and the radicals who want to turn America into a socialist country,” Trump said.
Trump didn’t use his speech to announce plans to flee again, but he repeatedly teased the prospect when he predicted that a Republican would reclaim the White House by 2024.
“And I wonder who that will be,” he offered. Who, who, who will that be? I wonder.”
However, it remains unclear how much of an appetite there would be for any other Trump term, even in the room of ardent supporters.
The conference’s annual unscientific scatter poll of just over 1,000 attendees found that 97% agreed with Trump’s work as president. But they were much more unclear when asked if he should run again, with only 68% saying he should.
If the 2024 primaries were held today and Trump was in the running, only 55% said they would vote for him, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with 21%. Without Trump in the field, DeSantis got 43% support, followed by 8% for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and 7% each for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
Although he no longer has his social media megaphone after being banned from Twitter and Facebook, Trump was back in public life even before the speech. He appealed to conservative news outlets following the death of talk radio star Rush Limbaugh and has made statements, including one in which he shot Mitch McConnell after the Senate Republican leader berated Trump for instigating the Capitol riot. McConnell has since said he would “absolutely” support Trump if he were the GOP nominee in 2024.
At his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump has also quietly met with aides and senior party leaders as he builds his post-presidential political operation. While he’s already backed several pro-Trump candidates, including one challenging a defender of impeachment, for the past week aides have been working to develop benchmarks for those seeking his approval to ensure the candidates are serious and fully-fledged political. and set up fundraising activities. organizations before he gets involved.
They are also planning a new super PAC that could raise unlimited amounts of money, although an assistant warned they were still deciding whether to create a new entity or repurpose an existing America First super PAC.
Trump hinted at the effort on Sunday, expressing his commitment to helping elect Republicans and calling for those in attendance to join him.
“I stand before you today to declare that the incredible journey we have embarked on together … is far from over,” he said.