President Trump triumphantly took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday afternoon for the first time since reclaiming the White House and declared that the Republican Party is the “proud voice” of Americans across the nation.
“Our party has become the proud voice of hard-working citizens of every race, religion color and creed, and I think one of the main reasons — not that we are conservative or anything — [is] we are the party of common sense. It’s about common sense,” the 78-year-old commander in chief told the adoring CPAC crowd of 1,000 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.
“Over the past month, we’ve confirmed an all-star team of warriors, patriots, visionaries who put the America First agenda into action,” he added.
“Daddy! We love you! Thank you daddy!” screamed one of the many pardoned protesters from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot in attendance as Trump took the stage to the defacto MAGA anthem, Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to Be An American” and raucous chants of “USA! USA! USA!”
He blasted his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, calling him the “worst president in the history of our country. I don’t care. I’ll say it. Jimmy Carter passed away, and he was a happy man when he passed away because it’s not even close.
“Every single thing [Biden] touched turned to s–t,” he added.
“We had a president who put illegal aliens up in penthouse suites and beautiful hotels on Park Avenue, on Madison Avenue, 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Now you have a president who is stamping their ticket to Gitmo,” he said.
Earlier at CPAC, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan continued his war of words with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Saturday during a fiery speech at CPAC.
“I read all these stories this week that Tom Homan insulted AOC. Well look, it’s not an insult if it’s true,” he said to applause.
“She says Homan has no game, he has nothing on me,” he continued. “I think she’s a long way from being a constitutional scholar, myself.”
Homan made his remarks during the annual conservative gathering in National Harbor, Md., which offered members of the Trump administration the chance to boast about its accomplishments during the first month of the president’s second term.
Homan and Ocasio-Cortez have sparred over the Trump administration’s immigration policies over X and in the news media this week — after the far-left New York congresswoman held a webinar titled “Know Your Rights in case of ICE.”
The move prompted Homan to ask the US Department of Justice whether the event was impeding ICE’s work.
Homan spoke ahead of an expected appearance by the president, who earlier Saturday met with Polish President Andrzej Duda amid questions throughout Europe about the president’s approach to the Ukraine-Russia War – including his claim that Ukraine “started” Russia’s invasion of its own country
This year’s conference has drawn a who’s who of conservative leaders and Trump administration officials, including numerous Cabinet members.
Other speakers Saturday included Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller; Argentina President Javier Milei and incoming United Nations Ambassador Elise Stefanik.
Vice President JD Vance addressed the conference Thursday, saying he remained positive about achieving peace in Europe even after Trump blasted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for being a “dictator.”
Vance didn’t mention Zelensky by name, but defended Trump’s choice to hold US talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia without a Ukrainian presence.
Elon Musk took the CPAC stage by storm on Thursday — decked out in a “Dark MAGA” outfit and wielding a prop chainsaw to signify the Department of Government Efficiency’s financial cuts to the federal government.
The tech billionaire and DOGE’s head honcho defended the new agency’s efforts to trim fat from federal agencies, with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of Education seeing among the biggest cuts.
