Trump idolized: with golden statue, thousands of fans renew their allegiance

ORLANDO, Fla.- A conference on the future of the conservative movement in the United States has become an ode to Donald Trump, with speakers who have declared their loyalty and assistants who posed to be photographed next to a gilded statue of the former president, which has become a furore.

The statue is dressed in a jacket, red tie and boxing shorts with the stars and stripes of the American flag. Her appearance generated mockery on social media, but convention attendees didn’t miss the opportunity to snap a photo with her. After the surprise generated, the author of the sculpture, Tommy Zegan, explained that the idea came to him three years ago and that his work contains several symbols that synthesize the spirit of Trump.

Participants at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) said they did not want to abandon the Republican mogul and his relentless baseless accusations that the November election was rigged.

‘Donald Trump is going nowhere,’ said Texas Senator Ted Cruz, one of many 2024 presidential candidates speaking at the event, which this year is being held at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., a few miles from the Trump Residence in Palm Beach.

Trump will deliver his first post-presidential speech at the conference on Sunday, and his aides say he will use the opportunity to reaffirm his power.

Most believe he won’t be short of fierce attacks on President Joe Biden, Democrats and wayward Republicans, although he won’t respond quickly if he looks to the White House in 2024.

The conference program revealed the furious division within the Republican ranks, where many mainstream voices claim the party must leave Trump behind to win back the suburban voters who left them in November and they sent Biden to the White House.

Influential Senator Mitch McConnell and other senior Tory leaders fear for the party’s political future if Trump’s conspiracy theories continue to dominate their political platform.

But at the conference, speakers continued to spread misinformation and conspiracy theories about the latest elections. Several panels focused on repeating allegations of massive fraud rejected by courts, election officials and the Trump administration itself.

Senator Josh Hawley, another candidate for 2024, received a loud applause and even a standing ovation when he bragged about contesting voter certification on January 6 despite of the assault on Capitol Hill by Trump supporters They were trying to stop the process. “It seemed to me that this was an important position that I had to defend,” he said.

Even after losing the election to Biden and being indicted a second time, most Americans believe Trump will reassert Republican control and try to punish his party’s rivals.

AP and ANSA agencies

THE NATION

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