Trump gives a speech at CPAC
And it’s gotten a lot of attention.
Remember when ex-presidents would retire and ride off into the sunset, leaving public life? At least, the ones who served two terms always seemed to do it – but Trump hasn’t served two terms.
He hasn’t served two terms yet, that is. Maybe never. Maybe some day. That’s the question that keeps a lot of Democrats – and some Republicans – up nights.
Obama was a two-term president. But he only lay low for a short while, and only publicly. I have always felt he was directing things from behind the scenes more than Hillary or anyone else was.
I watched a part of Trump’s speech, but the whole thing can be found here and the video is here. As far as I can tell, the gist of it is this:
(1) No third party.
(2) Get rid of the worst RINOs and NeverTrumpers in the party and make the GOP into a lean, mean fighting machine.
(3) Election reform – real election reform, not the HR1 type.
(4) Joe is a disaster.
(5) Trump accomplished a lot.
(6) A Trump 2024 candidacy is up in the air.
he only laid low for a short while
That should be lay low. (I offer the correction because I respect you. I wouldn’t bother with most people.)
John P:
Will fix.
Paul Mirengoff of Powerline predictably takes a jaundiced view of Trump’s speech:
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I don’t think anyone expected that Trump would start a new party. . .now. Trump is the dominant figure in an existing party — one that nearly won the presidency last year and that is not many votes shy of controlling both chambers of Congress. As Trump said, it makes no leave that Party.
But what if Trump runs for president in 2024 and the GOP nominates someone else? In that case, I consider it quite possible that an embittered Trump would run as a third party candidate, claiming, I suppose, that he really won the nomination only to have it stolen from him. Such a move would be entirely in keeping with his character and his recent behavior.
Remember, Trump promised only “I am not starting a new party” (present tense). He didn’t say he will not start one in the future.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/03/trumps-speech-2.php
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Also predictably, Mirengoff gets ratioed in the comments.
Agree with Neo’s summation.
I watched it completely. It was my duty as a conservative, after all. There were a lot of young adults at CPAC, which is great; a few blacks, even!
The GOP has got to stop its “Big Tent” BS and become as unified, as collective, as intolerant of deviation as the evil Democrats are, whose haste to destroy the USA is so very, very obvious.
Trump has shown the way. It is up to us not to falter, not to desert in the face of the enemy.
Trump is physically amazing: he looks and acts much younger than his birth age.
We have self-righteous “Republicans” like Senators Cassidy and little Sasse, and the bizarre Rep. Liz Cheney, but unfortunately she and both Senators got re-elected last Nov.
You can choose your party at voter registration, but your party need not choose you. Next two years will tell the tale.
And yes, I am white and I am a nationalist.
Even BEFORE Trump took office in Jan 2017 the “deep state,” among others, was out to get him and talk of impeachment was already in the air.
I don’t think any president-elect in US history ever mobilized and animated his enemies WITHIN and without govt. to such a fever pitch of hatred and contempt for the president -to-be.
Even the confederate states did not seek Lincoln’s removal; they just wished to secede and be left alone.
I am still puzzled as to why Trump’s election win in 2016 produced such a massive and COORDINATED effort to remove him from office.
Anybody have any thoughts on this??
By Trump in a post-speech interview:
“The Democrats, they’re smart, they’re vicious, very vicious. What they say and what they do is just terrible,” said Trump,” but still, they “stick together” rather than have divisions.
“What they don’t have is good policies, they have horrible policy. … So they are vicious and smart and they stick together, but they have horrible policies, and the policy really more than makes up for it,” said Trump. “We’re going to have a tremendous success.”
So he is boosting the GOP.
But he has the facts wrong: The Democrats have had their way with progressivism for a century now. The country’s secularism feeds right into them. They, not we, elected a demented, sadistic, corrupt Biden. That’s enough to call him “Evil”.
JohnTyler,
I think it is related to the “liberal ratchet.” The old saying is that the lasting structural changes in America only move towards more and more progressivism. You can point to Ronald Reagan as a counterpoint, but did it really last? I guess our overall income tax rates are still well below historical peaks.
If you buy the notion that there is a liberal ratchet, then how does it work? I’m sure there are many answers, but I think a big one is the “politics of personal destruction” or Alinsky style demonization. It is not just about trying to destroy the personalities of all or most Republicans, but to find those rare and few Republicans that have the will and capability to reverse the ratchet, and destroying them.
Reagan was sometimes called the Teflon president because the demonization effort didn’t work. Newt Gingrich was a example of an effective destruction of an effective GOP Speaker. And now the game has been raised to epic proportions.
My guess is it will ultimately fail (for at least two decades I’ve called the GOP feckless, they are commonly referred to as the stupid party), but I am glad Trump is stating he will work within the GOP. He is the proverbial bull in the China shop and our country needs a wrecking ball if there is any hope of breaking up the behemoth our federal government has become.
And maybe, just maybe, with the presence of Trump we’ll see more folks like Matt Gaetz, Kristi Noem (Tulsi Gabbard?) gaining traction and displacing the GOPe, or neocons (no offense), or whatever we’re calling the entrenched, elitist, country club wing of the Republican party.
It’s a longshot, but it is a shot.
Remember, Trump promised only “I am not starting a new party” (present tense). He didn’t say he will not start one in the future.
Mirengoff fancies Trump thinks and talks like a lawyer / politician.
Trump promised to start a PAC, and to raise money for and to support strong Repub candidates.
He only hinted at running in 2024. I don’t think he will (I could be wrong).
He made a big point of naming GOPe traitors. Good!
Also a point of ostentatiously talking up GOP House member Jim Jordan.
JohnTyler (2:31 pm) said: “I am still puzzled as to why Trump’s election win in 2016 produced such a massive and COORDINATED effort to remove him from office. Anybody have any thoughts on this??”
Trump did not bow down to the leftish — if not left-sympathizing, certainly left-conforming if not left-acquiescing — establishment’s gods. He wouldn’t even show them a hint of deference, fergawdsake.
He in-your-face *mocked* their precious gods.
Un-freakin’-forgivable. OFF WITH HIS HEAD!
Who gives a damn about Mirengoff’s opinions?
I surely do not.
He is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Learn to salute your betters, Mirengoff, obey their orders, and fall in line.
Mirengoff reminds me of little Sasse. Smug, smarter than the rest of us. And arrogant.
John Tyler: “Anybody have any thoughts on this??”
My comment on the open thread took this on. It is a better placed on this thread. Here it is:
Trump is a New Yorker. He’s brash, aggressive, competitive, doesn’t talk in complete sentences, has a street level vocabulary, and has a rhinoceros thick skin. He actually thrives on conflict. In other words, far from a typical politician that thrives on going along to get along while exercising an extensive vocabulary to dazzle the proles. He will not change his style. That is who he is.
Our government was designed to be slow paced and deliberate in its movements. As it has grown to leviathan size and become a huge bureaucracy that works primarily to enlarge itself and can’t seem to accomplish much except to spend vast amounts of money, a shakeup was long overdue.
Trump attacked problems with an eye to actually accomplishing something. Not only did he want to solve problems and quickly, he also talked openly about what he wanted to do. There has never been a more transparent president than Trump. This was an affront to the whole federal system. To make matters worse, Trump was a show man who quickly garnered a loyal following of lower and middle class citizens. That was even more frightening to the progressives. It is the reason why there was a massive effort by a large number of both left and right institutions to ensure Trump’s defeat in November.
In spite of everything they threw at him – the Russia hoax, two impeachments, constant attacks by the MSM, sabotage by enemies inside the administration, constant political games by the Pelosi Schumer partnership, and more; he accomplished nearly everything he promised during the campaign. He is a mortal danger to politics as usual.
His vision of putting America’s interests first, bringing manufacturing jobs home, securing our borders, demanding reciprocal and free trade, peace through strength, and backing law and order resonates with enough Americans that it will be the platform of the Republican party going forward. If he chooses to run in 2024, I think he has a good chance of getting the nomination. If he doesn’t run, there are capable people available, though few with his gigantic work ethic and unflappable desire to actually solve problems.
Apologies for being repetitive.
Donald Trump is very smart, so I am confident that he reads Neo’s blog. I will, therefore, take the opportunity to give him some advice. This is amplification of earlier comments
Mr Trump
* Concentrate all of your energy on 2022. Winning back the House and Senate are critical to everything that follows.
* Do not consider running in 2024.
*It is madness to elect a 78 year old President, even if that person appears to have a high energy level, and full cognitive ability. Yes, I know. I expect that the country will have realized its awful 2020 mistake by the time the 2024 campaign is under way.
* You have a large and loyal base, but you will always be a divisive figure on the national scene. Don’t go there.
* Use your standing with the base to strengthen the GOP and weed out the Rinos, just as you put it so well in your CPAC speech.
*The GOP has at least two potential stars on the bench in Pompeo and DeSantis. They may get stronger, or fall by the wayside. Others may emerge. As our Brit friends are fond of saying, “early days”.
*Stay above the fray , and do not endorse any one candidate leading up to, and through, the 2024 primaries. Give even handed support to any of a select few candidates that you can support wholeheartedly in the general election. But, don’t burn bridges before you get to them. You have shown us how surprises can, well surprise even the experts.
*Once a candidate is chosen, release your full Trumpism on his or her behalf. Your full political and emotional support can be decisive.
One more thought. Do not criticize Biden constantly. Find surrogates to do that, while you take the high ground that most folks expect of former Presidents. I am sure you can find plenty of surrogates. In fact, as things are going now, you may want to just sit back and let the Democrats engnge in their circular firing squad. Be flexible.
Well said, Oldflyer.
A further thought. Spend the time and energy to help GOP controlled states with major Democrat controlled cities to get their election laws right, as well as continuing to track down and expose the instances of fraud that helped Biden win. Actual facts to cram down the throats of the MSM who claim your accusations of fraud were baseless are needed. Karma, baby! Use reporters like John Solomon and Lee Smith to run the facts to ground. Major reports on Newsmax, OAN, Fox, and a book exposing the facts would set the stage for 2022 and beyond. There is much to be done.
The whole Republican party should be drawing attention to Biden’s reduced mental capacity, and especially the attendant anger management issue. Trump doesn’t have to, but the party does.
Why? Because there is no way Biden can make it through a full term without it becoming obvious despite the media cone of silence, so now is the time to get the Democrats and the media loudly denying it, and calling everyone else liars!
It is too early for the Dems and media to throw Joe to the wolves, so we have to force them to completely own the issue of his competency! It’s called hardball folks.
“(1) No third party.”
Yet to be determined. If cleaning up the GOP goes nowhere and election reform is rendered defunct and Mirengoff’s scenario eventuates… the outrage will create a third party.
“(2) Get rid of the worst RINOs and NeverTrumpers in the party and make the GOP into a lean, mean fighting machine.”
I think that will be much harder to do than many imagine. How many GOP Senators voted to accept the 2024 election ‘results’?
“(3) Election reform – real election reform, not the HR1 type.”
Possible at the red state level but impossible at the Federal and blue state levels. Which means that the game in 2022 and 2024 will still be rigged. Who ‘won’ the Georgia Senate races?
I think that if Trump decides to run again in 2024 and thinks he was cheated out of the nomination, he may well run as an independent. That is a distinct possibility because the RINO GOP is going to do all they can to derail a second Trump nomination. Nor do they care that pulling a ‘2016 Bernie Sanders’ on Trump would split the Republican Party vote and hand the election to the democrat, probably Harris.
I agree with Oldflyer. Yet, as long as the game is rigged, think it irrelevent.
Still waiting for someone to offer a pragmatic path to electoral reform in a rigged system. As by definition, the ‘winner’ in a rigged system is foreordained. Such a system will never allow reformers to acquire the votes needed to overturn that system.
Casinos allow occasional winners but when all is said and done, the House always ends up in the black.
Internal reform of a rigged system is effectively impossible, as there are too many interests invested in the rigged system who control the economic and political levers of power.
A rigged system can only be swept away by external forces.
Many will argue that those who support Trump are an external force. That’s true but also irrelevant because democrats now have control of our government’s ‘feedback mechanism’ i.e. the consent of the governed as expressed by the vote. A vote that the dems now control by both deciding what the ‘recorded’ vote shall show and, by a Supreme Court unwilling to exercise its corrective function when fraud occurs.
So we’ll fall deeper into 1984 until rebellion erupts. Which by then may well be too late.
“If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time or die by suicide.” Abraham Lincoln
“We cannot expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism.” Nikita Khrushchev
“The goal of socialism is communism” Vladimir Lenin
Both Lenin and Khrushchev knew whereof they spoke, as socialism is ultimately unsustainable without ever greater degrees of coercion.
Lead story on evening NBC news … BEAT DOWN on TRUMPS CPAC SPEECH. No doubt ABC and CBS and later NPR also.
Michelle Malkin gave a speech at AFPAC.
Anyone heard of AFPAC? 🙂
https://vdare.net/articles/michelle-malkin-at-afpac-ii-bloody-but-unbowed
Some Compare and Contrast might be in order.
Of course I have, Zaphod!
https://i1.wp.com/bunewsservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/duck.jpg
Ducking Issues is more a CPAC thing 😛
I still have a honking great can of Confit de Canard left over from the Great Plague Prepping Supermarket Shelves Stripping of February 2020. Desperate Times!
@John Tyler:“I am still puzzled as to why Trump’s election win in 2016 produced such a massive and COORDINATED effort to remove him from office. Anybody have any thoughts on this??”
The national government exists to divert tax money into the pockets of favored clients of Senators and Congressmen of both parties, and Trump was a threat to that system.
To be seen openly disagreeing with Trump hurt the Republicans with their voters, but they did sweet F. A. to implement Trump’s agenda when they controlled Congress. Because Trump’s agenda threatened their clients.
Unless something happens drastically in the next 4 years, Trump’s age is a non-factor.
His 78, if he continues as now, is at least 10 years younger than everyone else’s 78.
Oldflyer goes “…you will always be a divisive figure on the national scene. Don’t go there.” Which is exactly why Trump will be renominated: he will go there.
That’s how he got to be The People’s President against the corrupt establishment.
Repeatedly, people here advise Trump not to be Trump. That’s not the path to victory, compromising.
He says out loud what people are thinking. The People love him for that. The evil and corrupt establishment hate him for that. Truth is their enemy
Too many here are weak-kneed Sasse-ites.
“Already the Biden Administration has proven that they are anti-jobs, anti-family, anti borders, anti-energy, anti-women, and anti-science.
In one short month, we have gone from America first to America last. Think about it, right? America last.”
The Frustrated Indian puts this well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re_2QapsPQM&t=157s
To defend America, it must be fought for and the enemies within must be defeated. If you’re against that, go home and stand aside. You are in the way.
TJ,
IF reelected in 2024, what will Trump do then, that he didn’t do in 2020? What would de Santis, Noem, Cruz or Hawley do that Trump did not?
I say IF because what will prevent the dems from committing fraud again and to whatever degree needed?
What will prevent SCOTUS, now with the judicial ‘cover’ that “precedent” has been set… from again ruling that red states have no standing and then refusing to hear cases after the fact, as now “moot”?
Explain exactly how you win, while playing within the rules of a rigged system?
Tell us how to win, when one side plays by the rules because to do otherwise is to destroy the very thing being sought to be preserved, i.e. consent of the governed…
While the other side, which wants to end it, gets to cheat as much as needed to ‘win’ because the prosecutors and judges are on the side of the cheaters?
How do you win in a system where “the rule of law” only works for the criminals and where “redress of grievance” is nonexistent?
^— What he said.
I can’t think of any historical precedent for a peaceful within-the-guiderails recovery from where we find ourselves today. This goes for The Rest of the West too, only difference being that the rest of us are more broken to the yoke and slower to see it and less likely to put up a fight.
TJ like many is a GoodThinker / Boy Scout.. Sorry TJ and pls understand that I don’t mean this in a disparaging way; in normal times folks like you are the backbone of civilization. But right now your thinking is anachronistic. Not sure I even want the collective TJs to adopt my thought patterns hehe — after the interregnum will need plenty of his sort and will instead be experiencing a Surfeit of Shanes.
The above notwithstanding, per Cromwell to ye Hairy Scots:
“I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible that you may be mistaken.”
Short and pithy piece from Moldbug:
https://graymirror.substack.com/p/coriolanus-and-the-conservatives
The national government exists to divert tax money into the pockets of favored clients of Senators and Congressmen of both parties, and Trump was a threat to that system.
No, that is not why the national government exists. That is a byproduct of the machinations of politicians. (It’s actually a modest though disgusting share of federal expenditure that goes to said purposes).
Art Deco,
I believe Frederick is precisely correct. I assume your refutation is based on the Constitution and its adoption by the Colonies to form the national government? That doesn’t matter. We are WAY past that.