ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Taking the stage for the first time since\u00a0leaving office, former President Donald Trump called for GOP unity, even as he exacerbated intraparty divisions by attacking fellow Republicans and promoting\u00a0lies about the election\u00a0in a speech that made clear he intends to remain a dominant political force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he was hailed as a returning hero, Trump blasted his successor,\u00a0President Joe Biden, and tried to lay out a vision for the future of the GOP that revolves firmly around him, despite his loss in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you miss me yet?\u201d Trump said after taking the stage to his old rally soundtrack and cheers from the supportive crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, in his speech, tried to downplay the civil war gripping the party over the extent to which Republicans should embrace him, even as he unfurled an enemies list, calling out by name the\u00a010 House Republicans\u00a0and\u00a0seven GOP senators\u00a0who voted to impeach or convict him for inciting\u00a0the U.S. Capitol riot. He ended by singling out Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, who has faced tremendous\u00a0backlash in Wyoming\u00a0for saying Trump should no longer play a role in the party or headline the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While he insisted the division was merely a spat \u201cbetween a handful of Washington, D.C., establishment political hacks and everybody else, all over the country,\u201d Trump had a message for the incumbents who had dared to cross him: \u201cGet rid of \u2019em all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conference, held this year in Orlando instead of the Washington suburbs to evade COVID-19 restrictions, served as a tribute to Trump and Trumpism,\u00a0complete with a golden statue in his likeness\u00a0on display. Speakers, including many potential 2024 hopefuls, argued that the party must embrace the former president and his followers, even after the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also repeated in panel after panel his unfounded claims that he lost reelection only because of mass voter fraud, even though such claims have been\u00a0rejected by judges, Republican state officials and Trump\u2019s own administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, too, continued to repeat what Democrats have dubbed the \u201cbig lie,\u201d calling the election \u201crigged\u201d and insisting that he won in November, even though he lost by more than 7 million votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs you know, they just lost the White House,\u201d he said of Biden, rewriting history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is highly unusual for past American presidents to publicly criticize their successors in the months after leaving office. Ex-presidents typically step out of the spotlight for at least a while: Barack Obama was famously seen kitesurfing on vacation after he departed, while George W. Bush said he believed Obama \u201cdeserves my silence\u201d and took up painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He delivered a sharp rebuke of what he framed as the new administration\u2019s first month of failures, especially Biden\u2019s approach to immigration and the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJoe Biden has had the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
White House press secretary Jen Psaki had brushed off the expected criticism last week. \u201cWe\u2019ll see what he says, but our focus is certainly not on what President Trump is saying at CPAC,\u201d she told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aside from criticizing Biden, Trump used the speech to crown himself the future of the Republican Party, even as many leaders argue they must move in a new, less divisive direction after Republicans lost not just the White House, but both chambers of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though Trump has flirted with the the idea of creating a third party, he pledged Sunday to remain part of \u201cour beloved\u201d GOP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to continue to fight right by your side. We\u2019re not starting new parties,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have the Republican Party. It\u2019s going to be strong and united like never before.\u201d Yet Trump spent much of the speech lashing out at those he has deemed insufficiently loyal and dubbed \u201cRINOs\u201d \u2014 Republican in name only \u2014 for failing to stand with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe cannot have leaders who show more passion for condemning their fellow Americans than they have ever shown for standing up to Democrats, the media and the radicals who want to turn America into a socialist country,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump did not use his speech to announce plans to run again, but he repeatedly teased the prospect as he predicted a Republican would win back the White House in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd I wonder who that will be,\u201d he offered. \u201cWho, who, who will that be? I wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It remains unclear, however, how much appetite there would be for another Trump term, even in the room of staunch supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conference\u2019s annual unscientific straw poll of just over 1,000 attendees found that 97% approved of the job Trump did as president. But they were much more ambiguous when asked whether he should run again, with only 68% saying he should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the 2024 primary were held today and Trump were in the race, just 55% said they would vote for him, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 21%. Without Trump in the field, DeSantis garnered 43% support, followed by 8% for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and 7% each for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While he no longer has his social media megaphone after being barred from Twitter and Facebook, Trump had been inching back into public life even before the speech. He called into conservative news outlets after talk radio star Rush Limbaugh\u2019s death and has issued statements, including one blasting Mitch McConnell after the Senate Republican leader excoriated Trump for inciting the Capitol riot. McConnell has since said he would \u201cabsolutely\u201d support Trump if he were the GOP nominee in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump has also been quietly meeting with aides and senior party leaders as he builds his post-presidential political operation. While he has already backed several pro-Trump candidates, including one challenging an impeachment supporter, aides have been working this past week to develop benchmarks for those seeking his endorsement to make sure the candidates are serious and have set up full-fledged political and fundraising organizations before he gets involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are also planning a new super PAC that could raise unlimited amounts of money, though one aide cautioned they were still deciding whether to create a new entity or repurpose an existing America First super PAC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump hinted at the effort Sunday, voicing his commitment to helping elect Republicans and calling on attendees to join him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI stand before you today to declare that the incredible journey we begun together … is far from being over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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