Former President Trump spoke to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday.
“The proud patriots here today are the beating heart of the conservative movement,” Trump said after taking the stage while “Y.M.C.A.” by Village People played.
“You are the loyal defenders of our heritage, culture, our Constitution and our God-given rights. You never stop fighting for America, and I will never ever stop fighting for you.”
Trump’s comments were frequently interrupted by applause from the GOP activists who gathered for the CPAC conference in the Hilton Anatole’s Trinity Ballroom in Dallas. The event, which has been in the works for some time featured many appearances from GOP politicians, most of whom align with Trump.
The question of whether or not Trump will seek to reclaim the White House in 2024 has dominated GOP political circles in recent months. The former president, who is now 76 years old, has publicly teased the possibility with little subtlety.
“I’ve already made that decision,” he told New York Magazine last month. The only decision the former president has yet to make is whether or not he will announce something before the midterms or after.
Many GOP politicians privately hope he waits until after so that GOP candidates in the midterms aren’t as affected by his announcement. They also generally accept they have no power to influence his timing.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), when asked whether he thought a Trump 2024 announcement would be damaging to the GOP, simply answered that the former president is “going to decide what he wants to do, and frankly, he’s going to decide on his own time frame. He’s not going to listen to me. He’s not going to listen to anyone else. He’s going to decide when he damn well wants to, and the rest of the world will react accordingly.”
Trump handily won the CPAC straw poll, coming in with 69% of the votes. Ron DeSantis and Ted Cruz were the only two other nominees to earn more than 1% of the vote with DeSantis winning 24% and Cruz winning 2%. The results of the poll were announced not long before Trump made his speech.
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