Former President Donald Trump remains the dominant figure in the conservative wing of the Republican Party and delivered a speech at the four-day annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), positioning himself as the ultimate leader to take on Democrats and “establishment” Republicans. Trump described the upcoming 2024 presidential election as the “final battle,” vowing to be the voice, warrior, justice, and retribution for those who have been wronged and betrayed.
Trump also contrasted himself with “establishment” Republicans and criticized them for being “freaks, neocons, open border zealots, and fools.” Trump further criticized Republicans who want to raise the Social Security retirement age, asserting that he is committed to preserving and protecting the system.
In his speech, Trump said: “In 2016, I declared I am your voice. Today I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution… This is the final battle, they know it. I know it, you know it, and everybody knows it, this is it. Either they win or we win. And if they win, we no longer have a country… People are tired of RINOs and globalists; they want to see America first….”
Trump continued: “That’s what they want. It’s not too complicated… The Republican party was ruled by freaks, neocons, open border zealots and fools. We’re never going back to the party of Paul Ryan, Karl Rove, and Jeb Bush… We’re not going back to people that want to destroy our great social security system. Even some in our own party, I wonder who that might be. That want to raise the minimum age of social security to 70, 75 or even 80 in some cases, and then a route to cut Medicare to a level that it will no longer be recognizable…” (source: ABC News)
Trump further said: “I’ll challenge the governors of all 50 states, all 50 states to join me in a great beautification campaign. We will rename our schools and boulevards, not after communists but great American patriots. We will get rid of bad and ugly buildings and return to the magnificent classical style of western civilization… I will move heaven and Earth to finally secure our elections. All Republican governors should immediately go for paper ballots, one day voting and voter ID…they should go for that, paper ballots, same day voting… Republicans must compete using every lawful means to win. That means swamping the left with mail in votes, early votes, and election day votes, have to do it. We have to change our thinking because some bad things happened”
Donald Trump vows to stay in the race for 2024 even if Democrats find a way to indict him.