Trump Delivers CPAC Speech

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Facts

• Former Pres. Donald Trump on Saturday served as the closing speaker at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which featured speeches from several ardent Trump supporters and cheering crowds in Washington.¹
• Trump spoke on a variety of topics, including immigration, crime, the economy, and US foreign commitments – topics he has focused on since his first run for the presidency in 2016.²
• Trump rallied against both the Democratic and Republican parties, telling his supporters, “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.”³
• He also spent a notable amount of time criticizing other prominent Republicans, including Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah), former House Speaker Paul Ryan, strategist Karl Rove, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Trump also criticized Pres. Joe Biden and his administration.⁴
• Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) were among the Trump allies who spoke. Gaetz said the FBI, CIA, and other intelligence agencies should be defunded if they don't get 'back on our side,' and Greene lambasted Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy.⁵
• A straw poll found that 62% of attendees want Trump to win the Republican nomination, more than 40 points ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is generally considered Trump’s strongest competition at this stage in the race, though the governor hasn’t yet announced his candidacy.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Yahoo, ³The hill, ⁴Daily Mail, ⁵Axios and ⁶Us news & world report.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Independent. Trump’s speech, like every other one before it, was filled with lies and misinformation. He’s incapable of speaking without uttering blatant falsehoods, which is unsurprising from a candidate who degrades and ridicules anyone who stands against him, even those within his own party — a self-sabotaging strategy that confirms he's unfit to lead the nation.
• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Trump is continuing his political insurgency against the establishment and elite while making America great again. Though he uses strong language, everyone knows the country is approaching a point of no return, and he's the ideal candidate to steer it away from the edge, as seen by the overwhelming support he received during the event.
• Republican narrative, as provided by FOX News. Trump has his own style, and that's just part of how he plays politics. Regardless, the CPAC — overwhelmed by Trumpsters — isn't an accurate representation of GOP sentiment, which is moving on from him and should look to new young talent like Ron DeSantis. Though Trump did plenty of good things for his country, ultimately, he should step aside for this upcoming election.

Predictions