Former President Donald Trump, 76, got a heroes’ welcome at the Conservative Political Action Conference [CPAC], anticipating his keynote speech tonight in National Harbor, Maryland. Trump’s been so vilified by Democrats and the U.S. press, they thought they had destroyed his political future, only to find out he’s more wanted among conservatives than ever. Trump complained after the Nov. 8, 2020 election that massive voter fraud upended his chance for a second term, only to find out that no U.S. court agreed with his claims. Then came Jan 6, 2021, where rabble rousers ransacked the Capitol, leading to widespread arrested and convictions for vandalized the U.S. Capitol on the day the Electoral College certified the 2020 vote. Trump couldn’t accept that he was beaten fair-and-square by 80-year-old, if the country believes the U.S. press should demonize Republicans.
Going to CPAC, Trump didn’t know what to expect with the never-Trump Republican faction still spewing propaganda bout the ex-president. Democrats and the media spent his four years in office accusing Trump of Russian collusion, then when that didn’t work, engaging unscrupulous whistleblowers to accuse Trump of blackmailing foreign officials like Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Volodymer Zelensky. Then, after a concocted Impeachment Trial, Trump won acquittal in the U.S. Senate. If that’s weren’t enough, House Democrats under 82-year-old former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of “incitement of insurrection,” another bogus impeachment charge for the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. House Democrats contended that Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021 speech at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. caused the mayhem. FBI said riots were planned by right wing groups for months.
Then came a serious of specious lawsuits and prosecutions accusing Trump cheated New York State of tax revenue, all because he over-or-under valued his real estate holdings. When the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago estate Aug. 8, 2022 seizing what they called “classified” documents, Democrat and Press though they had Trump once against in legal jeopardy. Then Biden was caught with classified documents, negating what Democrats and the press thought were more high-crimes-and-misdemeanors. So, when Trump faces CPAC tonight he’ll get a heroes’ welcome for the wringer he’s be put through by Democrats and the press. Trump was the first to declare Nov. 15, 2022 he was running for president. Then 52-year-old former South Carolina and U.N. Ambassador Gov. Nikki Haley declared Feb. 14. Next, tech-entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswarmy announced he would run for president Feb. 21.
Reports from CPAC indicate that they’re comfortable with Trump, don’t need a slew of other candidates like former Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or Florida Sen. Sen. Tim Scott to run. “What I’m looking forward to, obviously, is President Trump,” said Karen Ruybal from Fort Lupton, Colorado. Ruybal said, admitting she didn’t listen to Sen. Tec Cruz (R-Tx.), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) or Rep. Jim Jorday (R-Ohio). Ruybal did say she took her own straw poll of other CPAC attendees who said DeSantis looms large for other Republicans. “I don’t like the way it’s looking,” Ruybal said. “But it thinks it’s happening.” DeSantis chose not to attend CPAC, knowing that it doesn’t fit with timing for his eventual campaign. Whether or not DeSantis jumps into the race, clearly the night is Trump’s to remind CPAC what’s important for Republicans in the future.
Trump won’t tip all his cards at CPAC tonight, though he’s expected to make his position known on the Ukraine War. With anti-Russian Democrats and Republicans finding ground backing Biden on Ukraine, Trump represents the anti-war wing of the Republican Party, something that won him votes in 2016 when he denounced former President George W. Bush for the Iraq War. Growing numbers of Republicans and independents, according to a new AP-NORC poll, show a waning support for the Ukraine War. President Joe Biden, 80, thinks he has popular support for the Ukraine War but he’s not reading the polls. Voters are starting to ask what we’re doing in Ukraine battling the Russian Federation. Biden and Zelensky’s excuse of defending democracy sounds more like a warn-out platitude, no longer selling the war. Trump could declare tonight at CPAC his opposition to the war.
CPPAC attendees look forward to Trump to “wow-them” letting his opponents know that he’s either really back or vulnerable to a candidate like DeSantis. Whether Trump admits it or not, DeSantis is a chip off the old block, holding many of the same ideas, only over 30 years younger. When you consider the contrast with Biden, DeSantis would represent to independent voters that ultimately decide elections a fresh face, a new start without all the past baggage. DeSantis lurks in the background, the one telegenic candidate with media buzz around him. Showing the kind of loyalty with conservatives Trump commands, San Diego resident Thao Le said it best. “There’s others out there,” Le said. “But they don’t have what it takes to make American great.” AP-NORC’s polls show that DeSantis has slipped among respondents planning to vote Republican in the 2024 presidential election.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
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