Trump to claim control of GOP at CPAC, his first post-presidential speech will be a 'show of force': Report
Former president Donald Trump is set to make his first post-presidency appearance next weekend during which he intends to send the message that he is the Republican Party’s “presumptive 2024 nominee” with a strong grip on the party’s support base. His top allies have confirmed this to Axios.
According to a longtime advisor, Trump’s speech will be a “show of force” and the message that will be sent on the occasion is that “I may not have Twitter or the Oval Office, but I’m still in charge”. Axios also said that Trump’s advisors will meet him at his Mar-a-Lago residence this week where the plan for his next political moves will be decided. Also, the mechanism for king-making in the 2022 midterm elections will also be put in place, the report added.
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Trump’s speech will come at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, on February 28, which will also mark his first public appearance since he left office last month, an informed source told Axios. It also said that the former president has plans to launch a direct attack on the incumbent president, Joe Biden, over his new immigration plan besides talking about the future of the GOP, which is clearly split on the question of supporting his legacy. A number of Republican members in both the chambers of the Congress voted in favor of Trump’s impeachment in the recent weeks and that infuriated the former commander-in-chief and his loyalists in the party.
On Biden, Trump is expected to attack his successor’s “disastrous” amnesty and border policies and pledge to remain a key leader in the conservative movement to fight the Democratic president. The New York Post first reported about Trump’s plans and quoted Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe as saying: “I’m looking forward to hearing him speak and hearing about his post-presidency plans.”
For the observers, the speech next weekend could mark a thumping return for Trump who has maintained a low-profile ever since his presidency got over. His concluding days in the White House were less than happy as the Republican was accused of inciting violence at the Capitol Hill on January 6 when his angry supporters stormed the Congress when it was in session to cement the victory of Biden in the 2020 presidential battle. Trump was banned by major social media platforms like Twitter, which remained his most-used medium of communication. The Democrat-controlled House impeached him for the second time, although he got acquitted in the Senate for the second time as well.
At the event which kicks off on Thursday, February 25 (Trump will speak on the concluding day), a number of Trump’s former Cabinet members and GOP allies will also speak.
The CPAC speech is planned to show that Trump still controls the GOP, irrespective of the fact whether he runs for the 2024 election or not. His senior advisor Jason Miller told Axios: “Trump effectively is the Republican Party. The only chasm is between Beltway insiders and grassroots Republicans around the country. When you attack President Trump, you're attacking the Republican grassroots.” The full lineup of speakers has not yet been finalized and is subject to change, CNBC News reported.
That Trump has plans to arrange the script like he did in 2016 by taking on the Barack Obama administration again in 2024 was evident when one of his sources told Axios: "Much like 2016, we’re taking on Washington again."
