Donald Trump made a highly anticipated appearance at CPAC on Sunday, marking his first major speech since leaving office.
“I stand before you today to declare that the incredible journey we began together, we went through a journey like nobody else. There has never been a journey so successful, we began it together four years ago and it is far from being over,” Trump hinted.
The former president was expected to blast Joe Biden in his speech and certainly did not disappoint, discussing issues including the border crisis, school closures and foreign policy.
“We all knew that the Biden administration was going to be bad, but none of us even imagined just how bad they would be and how far left they would go. He never talked about this,” Trump said. “His campaign was all lies.”
“Joe Biden has had the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history,” Trump said to the enthusiastic crowd, calling the new administration “anti-jobs, anti-families, anti-border, anti-energy, anti-women and anti-science.”
The speech focused on the escalating crisis at the southern border, which he returned to frequently, blasting the Biden administration for essentially encouraging a “national security disaster.”
“It took the new administration only a few weeks to turn this unprecedented accomplishment into a self-inflicted humanitarian and national security disaster by recklessly eliminating our border, security measures, controls, all of the things that we put into place. Joe Biden has triggered a massive flood of illegal immigration into our country, the likes of which we have never seen before,” he said. “In just one short month, we have gone from America First to America Last.”
“When I left office just six weeks ago, we had created the most secure border in U.S. history. We had built almost 500 miles of the great border wall that helped us with these numbers,” he added. “The wall has had an impact that nobody would’ve believed.”
Trump urged that schools must reopen so children can get back to in-person learning.
“They must get back and get back right now,” he said.
“The Biden administration is actually bragging about the classroom education they are providing to migrant children on the border, while at the same time millions of American children are having their futures destroyed by Joe Biden’s anti-science school closures,” he said. “There’s no reason whatsoever why the vast majority of young Americans should not be back in school immediately,” he added.
“The only reason that most parents do not have that choice is because Joe Biden sold out America’s children to the teachers unions. His position is morally inexcusable, you know that. Joe Biden has shamefully betrayed America’s youth and he is cruelly keeping our children locked in their homes, no reason for it whatsoever,” he said. “They’re going to grow up and they’re going to have a scar.”
Trump also responded to widespread speculation that he will be starting his own political party.
“We’re not starting new parties. You know, they kept saying ‘he’s going to start a brand new party,’” he said. “We have the republican party. It’s going to unite and be stronger than ever before. I am not starting a new party,” he added. “That was fake news. Fake news, no. Wouldn’t that be brilliant? Let’s start a new party and let’s divide our vote so that you can never win. No, we’re not interested in that,” he warned.
“For the next four years, the brave republicans in this room will be at the heart of the effort to oppose the radical democrats, the fake news media, and their toxic cancel culture,” Trump continued. “And I want you to know that I am going to continue to fight right by your side.”
He even signaled to the crowd that he may run for president again in 2024.
“Who knows, who knows, I may even decide to beat them for a third time,” he hinted.