Donald Trump reappears from the plains as lord and master of the Republican Party

WASHINGTON – The Conservative Conference is the largest annual right-wing congregation in the United States. For several years, the meeting has been a Asset. Not much seems to have changed since Donald Trump left the White House: this year one of the main attractions has been a golden statue of Trump in flip flops, with shorts in the colors of the American flag, a magic wand in one hand and a copy of the constitution in the other. And the place chosen for the meeting was nothing less than Orlando, Florida, a state that idolizes Trump.

Trump traveled there from his Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago, to make his first public appearance after stepping down from office just over a month ago, and renew his title of lord and lord of the republican party. An hour late, and the lines of “I’m proud to be an American,” Trump took to the stage with a packed house.

“Do you miss me already?” He began his speech.

With a message that sent several darts to the Joe Biden administration and recycled many of his classic campaign pledges, Trump said the trip from his movement “is far from over”, and he rejected out of hand the idea of ​​creating a third political party, a decision that would have fractured the Republican Party and opened the door for Democrats to political hegemony. Au pair, he spread the idea of ​​being a candidate again.

“I’m not going to start a new game, that was fake news. Wouldn’t that be great? Let’s start a new party, share our vote to never win. We are going to be united and strong like never before, ”Trump said. His pledge sparked cheers from the public. But the longest applause came after he repeated his lie that he beat Biden and the Democrats in the last presidential election, and left open the possibility of returning to the White House: “Who knows? Maybe I decide to beat him a third time, ”he says, and I let the ovation flow for a few seconds.

Trump’s golden statue was hardly the most visible monument of Trump’s idolatry on the American right, which some say has ended make the Republican Party a cult movement, and not just one of principles. For a few days, Orlando witnessed Trump’s enduring reverence in the country’s conservatism, despite leaving the White House with the lowest popularity in his entire presidency and one of the worst in history. modern for a president. Trump closed the meeting, just like he did when he was president.

In love with victory, Trump took to the stage of Political action conference Conservative (CPAC), the most important annual meeting of the North American right, as a winner: An informal poll of meeting attendees put it at the forefront of a hypothetical presidential primary in 2024 It was no accident: All polls indicate that despite the turbulent end of his presidency, which included an attack on Capitol Hill and a second indictment, which came after he stepped down from power, Trump is still the star figure in the government. Republican Party.

Trump’s speech reaffirmed his intention to capture the role of Leader of the Opposition with the idea, perhaps, of trying to be a presidential candidate again in 2024. Some of the main figures in the Republican Party who descended on Orlando for the reunion paid tribute to him, amid an internal dispute that will define who holds the reins of Republicans: whether Trump, or someone from the group of politicians trying to try to forge links between the Trumpism and the establishment.

“Let me tell you right now, Donald J. Trump is not going anywhere.”said the senator Ted cruz, from Texas, a loyal Trump player since Trump defeated him in the 2016 primary.

The Governor of Florida, Ron De Santis, another staunch Trumpist banner, which Trump used as a model for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic the year before, indicted establishment Republican, whose main figures are trying – for the moment, without success – to ban Trump from the political party that Abraham Lincoln was able to lead.

“We can’t, we won’t go back to the days of the failed Republican establishment of yesteryear,” DeSantis said this week in his conference address. “We reject open borders and instead support American sovereignty and the American worker. Building a movement for amnesty and cheap foreign labor is like building a house in a field of quicksand, ”he urged, a phrase taken from the Trumpist mantra.

Kevin mccarthy, leader of the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives, He credited Trump for increasing the number of seats won by Republicans in the lower house of Congress, which nonetheless remains under Democratic control.

“This is the first time since 1994 that no Republican in power has lost. We beat 15 Democrats. And do you know who the 15 Democrats lost to? Conservative women and conservative minorities, each of them, ”McCarthy said. Like many others, McCarthy criticized Trump for encouraging the insurgency against Congress on Jan.6, but then went to Mar-a-Lago to take a photo, smiling, with the mogul.

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