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Topics: Donald Trump, Politics
Mike Sheridan
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics
Donald Trump’s latest incendiary speech has been dubbed ‘the most frightening’ of his political career to date.
The former President of the United States and potential 2024 candidate was speaking at the conservative Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas on this week when he made the ‘unapologetically fascist’ remarks that have left pundits reeling.
He opened his speech by doling out congratulations and shout-outs to fellow politicians and Republicans who have stood by him through his ongoing denial of the 2020 election result.
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It contained references to ‘draining the swamp’ and the ‘deep state’, a conspiracy held amongst many of his supporters that a group in Washington DC unlawfully pull strings in government.
"It's time to clean house,” Trump said. “We did a lot of it, but nobody knew the deep state was that deep."
He continued to stoke fears of "weapons the like of which nobody has ever seen before," adding: "We could end up in WWIII because incompetent people are governing us."
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Trump insisted that "the real threat" came from within the USA itself, again alluding to Democrats and Republicans who he views as "the enemy."
The CPAC is a biannual event where the most prominent voices in the Republican party give speeches to their most loyal supporters. Trump was once again the keynote speaker, rambling on and off autocue for over an hour and a half.
Yet in a week where the former President found himself subject to an FBI search on his property in Mar-A-Lago in Florida, and where refused to answer questions to a New York District Attorney during a deposition, Trump still managed to come out of it smelling of roses in the eyes of his most loyal supporters.
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Earlier, Texas Senator Ted Cruz had waded into the trans debate, introducing himself by saying: "My name is Ted Cruz, and my pronouns are ‘kiss my ass’."
The culture wars have become a popular talking point for Trumpers, with Trump himself saying, "We need to implement strict prohibitions on teaching inappropriate racial, sexual, and political material."
Bringing on stage Riley Gaines, the Kentucky state swimmer who spoke out against trans athlete Lia Thomas after tying with her in a race, Trump told the roaring crowd that they needed to "keep female sports female."
He added: "The election was rigged and stolen, and now our country is systematically destroyed."
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The 2020 election is still a central talking point for Trump. "I ran twice, and I won twice, doing much better the second time."
Reaction to the speech from the left side of American media was damning. The editor of Texas Monthly, Michael Hardy, told Raw Story that it might be "the most frightening speech I've ever heard. Full-on, unapologetic fascism,” adding: "Trump has either been reading Mein Kampf or having someone read it to him."
Having teased another run for the presidency at an earlier CPAC conference in February, members of Trump's own party are reportedly worried about the timing of his announcement with the midterm elections this coming November crucial.
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If he announces a run for President before then, they worry, he's likely to take away much-needed donations from local and state Republicans running closely fought races.
A straw poll at CPAC was remarkably good news for Donald Trump. The rise in popularity of Florida governor Ron DeSantis was seen by many to be his likely downfall, with a Trump insider telling UniLad he felt he would ultimately announce but not run.
But the 45th POTUS won 69 percent of the votes taken at CPAC, with DeSantis coming a distant second with 24 percent and former Vice President Mike Pence, another likely candidate, not even mentioned.
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The name that came in third on the list was Trump's son, Don Trump Jnr, with 8 percent of attendees saying they'd like him to be their next President.