Donald Trump will reportedly tell the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida this week that he is the man draining the Washington swamp – as the Republicans’ “presumptive 2024 nominee”.
Trump addresses CPAC on Sunday, his topic the future of the Republican party. On Monday, the news site Axios, citing anonymous sources, reported its plan to take over the mantle.
An unnamed “longtime adviser” was quoted as saying Trump’s speech to the right-wing event will be a “show of strength” with the message, “I may not have Twitter or the Oval Office, but I’m still in charge.”
A cited source, close adviser Jason Miller, said, “Trump is in fact the Republican party. The only rift is between Beltway insiders and grassroots Republicans across the country. When you attack President Trump, you attack Republican grassroots. “
Thousands have left the party since the January 6 attack on the Capitol, which Trump called on in his bid to reverse an election defeat he did not admit, killing five people, including a police officer.
But polls from those leftists show that the former president has a clear lead over a string of potential 2024 candidates, who support him and not, in a fictional primary.
Ten members of the House voted to impeach Trump a second time over the uprising at the Capitol, and seven senators voted with Democrats to convict. That was short with 10 votes of the majority needed, but it made it the most bipartisan charge ever.
Republicans who turned against Trump have been censored by state parties, reporting vitriol being directed their way by the grassroots – and even family members.
Trump’s grip on the party is clear. On Sunday, Steve Scalise, a key member of the House leadership, repeatedly declined to say Trump lost the election or took responsibility for the uprising at the Capitol.
Scalise told ABC News he had visited Trump in Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort.
“I found that he was much more relaxed than in his four years in the White House,” he said. “He still cares about this country and the direction of our country. But you know, it was more of a conversation about how he is now and what he plans to do and how his family is doing. “
Axios cited an unnamed source, saying some potential 2024 contenders have applied for Trump’s approval. It also noted that the former president, who would be 78 on election day and facing significant legal threats now that he has left office, may intend to tie the party but ultimately not run.
Funds raised around Trump’s lie about his apparent election defeat by Joe Biden as a result of fraud could be used to fund primaries against those who crossed him.
Regardless, CPAC has willingly moved close by, from its usual location in Maryland. Crowds at the conservative event were initially suspicious of Trump, but came to embrace his flag-hugging displays with evangelical fervor.
The Axios source reportedly said, “As in 2016, we are tackling Washington again.”