In a campaign-style performance, Donald Trump delivered the more-than-hour-long finale at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, hitting familiar notes about his election victories, ending the war in Ukraine, US border militarization and what he characterized as the liberation of Washington from “deep-state bureaucrats”.
Speaking to an auditorium filled to the brim at National Harbor in Maryland, Trump went all-in on his deployment of active-duty troops to the southern border, which he characterized as responding to an “invasion”. He also boasted that his administration had terminated temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants and attempted to ban birthright citizenship for children of non-legal permanent residents.
“We’ve begun the largest deportation operation in American history,” Trump said.
In one of several digressions, Trump portrayed his return to office as a victory over what he called a “sinister group of radical informers, war-mongers and corrupt special interests” whom he claimed had previously controlled Washington. The president reserved particular ire for media outlets, labeling MSNBC a “threat to democracy” and mocking Rachel Maddow, whose show is watched by more than 2 million viewers, for what he claimed were her low ratings.
He also claimed Democrats had “lost their confidence” and possessed “the worst policy in history” while boasting about his administration’s first month in office.
“Nobody has seen four weeks like we’ve had,” he said.
Some of the other early moves he discussed included sweeping cuts to the federal workforce and regulations, baseless allegations of massive social security fraud, withdrawal from international climate agreements and the imposing of new tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico.
He also addressed ongoing international conflicts, incorrectly claiming that US aid to Ukraine had exceeded European contributions, and saying the United States had sent $350bn to the war-torn country since the Russian invasion in 2022. That number isn’t close to the amount the US has allocated, with a government oversight office putting that estimate closer to $183bn. European nations have combined to contribute more.
He noted the recent return of Israeli hostages while claiming that “Biden got back zero”, apparently forgetting that the US helped broker the return of 105 hostages in November 2023.
The annual conference has become a key venue for Republican politicians to connect with conservative grassroots activists, though it’s clear the event has abandoned traditional GOP policies to fully embrace Trump’s Maga-centric approach.
Several international conservative politicians attended the speech, including the Argentine president, Javier Milei, who is currently facing a widespread crypto scandal; the Polish president, Andrzej Duda; and the British Reform party leader, Nigel Farage, all praised by Trump during his remarks.
