President Trump at CPAC: His First Speech Since Leaving Office? Or His First Speech in His Bid to Return to Office?
Former President Donald Trump speaks at CPAC 2021 in Orlando, Florida on February 28, 2021. It was his first major speech since leaving office.
President Trump won’t be starting a new party, but the Trump party is far from over. The former president closed out the 2021 CPAC with a rousing speech hinting at another run in 2024: “Who knows? I may decide to beat them for a third time.”
While flatly rejecting the idea of forming a third party, Trump announced the launch of a Super PAC called “Save America,” touted the DonaldJTrump.com website and vowed to help Republicans regain the House and Senate in 2022. Then “a Republican president will make a triumphant return to the White House.”
“And I wonder who that will be,” he teased. “Who, who, who will that be, I wonder.”
Trump Blasts Joe Biden’s “Most Disastrous Month”
Trump spent the first portion of his speech ripping Joe Biden. He’s had the “most disastrous first month in modern history,” said Trump, proving to be “anti-jobs, anti-families, anti-border, anti-energy, anti-women and anti-science.”
“In one short month we’ve gone from America First to America Last.”
The former president detailed how Biden’s “illegal” and “immoral” immigration actions are leading to a flood of illegal immigrants moving toward the country, a boom for human traffickers, and the release of dangerous criminals into American society.
In total, Biden is “failing” in the number one duty of a president: “defending American laws.”
While celebrating his administration’s triumph in creating COVID vaccines, Trump slammed Biden for not opening schools. He called Biden’s kowtowing to teachers unions and ignoring science in keeping schools closed, a “craven act.” Trump challenged Biden to “get the schools open and get them open now.”
Trump contrasted his successes against Biden’s efforts to undo those actions. For example, dropping sanctions against Iran, thus giving away America’s bargaining position against the terrorist regime. Rejoining the China controlled World Health Organization, and going back to paying $500 million a year to the organization … when the U.S. could have gone back and paid the same $39 million as China.
What is “Trump-ism”?
If the speech wasn’t an opening salvo in the 2024 campaign, Trump was certainly rolling up the cannons. Not just in attacking Biden and touting his own policy triumphs, but by calling out establishment Republicans and defining “Trump-ism.”
He defined Trump-ism as: Lower taxes, cutting regulation, strong borders, installing a system of merit for newcomers, no riots in the street, law enforcement, protecting the Second Amendment, support for the nation’s forgotten men and women and a strong military.
In his vision, the Republican Party protects life, appreciates its history and rejects cancel culture.
The Democrats, he said, are pushing socialism, “leading to Communism.” He claimed the party had an “unvarnished distaste for the past and people of America.”
We Must Enact Election Reform
For Republicans to regain power, though, the party needs to fight for “fair, honest and secure elections.” Trump again insisted the election was a disgrace and “rigged” and the Supreme Court “didn’t have the guts or courage to do anything about it.”
So it will be up to legislatures to ensure nothing like the 2020 election happens again. He listed seven election reforms that must be put in place:
- Having just one election day.
- Allow absentee ballots only from people who can prove they cannot vote in person.
- Eliminate mass mail-in balloting.
- Voter ID.
- Universal signature matching for ballots.
- 100% verification of citizenship before allowing someone to vote.
- Chain of custody protection for every ballot.
Is the 2024 Election Now Underway?
Sunday’s speech was billed as Trump’s first major appearance since departing from office last month. Judging from the speech, it looks like it will one day be remembered as his first speech of his 2024 re-election campaign.
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Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl on Twitter and Parler, if his Twitter account is restored. You can also follow him @StreamingAl on Gab and MeWe.
