After a month of silence, ex-president Donald J. Trump was one of the speakers at the convention of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida on Sunday. His speech lasted for nearly an hour and half, as he spoke to a cheering audience during his monologue.
After leaving office, Trump fell silent, as almost all of his social media profiles were blocked after his incitement of the attack on the US Capitol on January 6. However, that did not silence Trump as he spoke to the CPAC this week. This organization often plays a pivotal role in determining the ideological direction of the GOP, which means that the invitation of the former president was a meaningful gesture.
Although Trump's performance was highly anticipated, his speech did not present many surprises. In his speech, he presented classic republican views like limited immigration and the preservation of the second amendment, etc. He also criticized the Biden administration, saying "Biden had the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history." He also talked about other issues like transgender athletes in sports and blamed democrats for destroying women’s sports with the presence of transgender participants in women's sports. “Joe Biden and democrats are even pushing policies that would destroy women’s sports.” he said. “Young girls and women are now competing against those who are biological males.”
Mr. Trump used many similar lines from his campaign speeches, particularly about how far to the left, in his opinion, the Biden administration has become, and once again alluding to the legally disproven theory that the Presidential election in November was rigged.
In his speech, the former president disclaimed that he was starting a new party. "It was fake news." he said "We have a Republican party. It is going to unite and be stronger than ever" he said to resounding applause from the crowd.
One of the most anticipated pieces of information was the candidacy for president in the next election in 2024. Trump did not confirm this information in his speech but did not refute it either, which means that his potential candidacy remains a subject of speculations. Among CPAC delegates, 55% would vote for him in 2024, a lower amount than many experts would have expected at the CPAC conference, but still shows that Trump has a majority of support among conservatives.