Former President Donald Trump cast NovemberB次元官网网址檚 presidential election as B次元官网网址渏udgment dayB次元官网网址� and declared himself a B次元官网网址減roud political dissidentB次元官网网址� during a speech before conservative activists outside of Washington Saturday as he again cloaked his campaign in religious imagery.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference ahead of his win in the South Carolina Republican primary, Trump painted an apocalyptic vision of the future if President Joe Biden wins a second term as the two prepare for an expected rematch election.
B次元官网网址淔or hardworking Americans, Nov. 5 will be our new liberation day. But for the liars and cheaters and fraudsters and censors and imposters who have commandeered our government, it will be judgment day,B次元官网网址� he said to loud applause. B次元官网网址淲hen we win, the curtain closes on their corrupt reign and the sun rises on a bright new future for America.B次元官网网址�
Trump also cast himself as a B次元官网网址減roud political dissidentB次元官网网址� days after comparing himself to Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, the top political opponent of RussiaB次元官网网址檚 autocratic leader Vladimir Putin, who died in a remote Arctic prison after being jailed by the Kremlin leader.
B次元官网网址淚 stand before you today only as your past and hopefully future president, but as a proud political dissident. I am a dissident,B次元官网网址� he told the crowd.
Trump was speaking at this yearB次元官网网址檚 CPAC gathering as voters headed to the polls in South Carolina. The former president easily beat his last remaining Republican primary rival, Nikki Haley, in the state where she served as governor for two terms. While Haley has vowed to remain in the race until next monthB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淪uper TuesdayB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� when more than a dozen states will vote B次元官网网址� TrumpB次元官网网址檚 campaign is hoping he can reach the delegate threshold to clinch the nomination in March.
Last year, Trump used his speech at CPAC to tell his supporters that his 2024 campaign would be one of B次元官网网址渞etribution.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚n 2016, I declared: I am your voice. Today I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,B次元官网网址� he said then.
This time, he cast himself as a savior standing between his supporters and near-anarchy as he spoke of B次元官网网址渉oards of illegal aliens stampeding across our borders,B次元官网网址� warned the countryB次元官网网址檚 social safety net and education system would B次元官网网址渂uckle and collapse,B次元官网网址� and claimed that, B次元官网网址渢he gangs will be invading your territory.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hese are the stakes of this election: Our country is being destroyed and the only thing standing between you and its obliteration is me,B次元官网网址� he declared, casting BidenB次元官网网址檚 leadership as B次元官网网址渁n express train barreling toward servitude and to ruin.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址滱 vote for Trump is your ticket back to freedom, itB次元官网网址檚 your passport out of tyranny and itB次元官网网址檚 your only escape from Joe Biden and his gangB次元官网网址檚 fast track to hell. And in many ways, weB次元官网网址檙e living in hell right now,B次元官网网址� he said, adding that: B次元官网网址渢he unprecedented success of the United States of America will be my ultimate and absolute revenge.B次元官网网址�
Violent crime is, in fact, down nationwide, according to the most recent FBI statistics. And despite public perception, recent data on the economy has shown that growth accelerated last year while inflation returned closer to the Federal ReserveB次元官网网址檚 2% target, proving wrong Wall Street and academic economists who had been predicting a recession.
This yearB次元官网网址檚 CPAC conference has featured a parade of Republican lawmakers and MAGA personalities who have echoed TrumpB次元官网网址檚 attacks on BidenB次元官网网址檚 border policies, his handling of the economy and TrumpB次元官网网址檚 assertion that the 91 felony charges he faces across four separate jurisdictions are nothing more than a baseless attempt by the Biden administration to damage his candidacy. ThereB次元官网网址檚 no evidence that Biden influenced the charges in any way.
In response to TrumpB次元官网网址檚 speech, Ammar Moussa, the Biden campaignB次元官网网址檚 rapid response director, called the former president a B次元官网网址渓oser.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淯nder his presidency, America lost more jobs than any president in modern history, women in more than 20 states have lost the freedom to make their own health care decisions because Trump overturned Roe, and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party lost their damn minds putting TrumpB次元官网网址檚 quest for power over our democracy,B次元官网网址� Moussa said in a statement.
The lineup has featured a handful of Republican vice presidential hopefuls including former candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, as well as foreign leaders like El SalvadorB次元官网网址檚 president, Nayib Bukele, former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, and the president of Argentina, right-wing populist Javier Milei.
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Colvin reported from Columbia, South Carolina.
Adriana Gomez Licon And Jill Colvin, The Associated Press
