Conservatives from across the country gathered in Orlando, FL for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and one thing is clear, Donald Trump remains the king of the Republican Party.
Over the last year of Biden’s disastrous presidency, Americans have been forced to compare the two politicians. Trump is known for his larger-than-life personality, sometimes to his own detriment, versus the leadership of an incompetent man who’s slowly but surely drifting off into senility. The drastic differences in leadership have even had Democrats say they miss Trump’s mean tweets right about now.
Donald Trump hasn’t shied away from the fact he thinks Biden’s handling of the country has been dismal, to say the least, and that he’s prepared to do what he can to fix it. Over the past months, Trump has strongly hinted at his plans to launch a third presidential campaign, setting up a rematch with Biden if he decides to pursue a second term. However, Trump’s strongest hint yet at a comeback came as he delivered a speech at CPAC to thousands of attendees.
Trump’s Save America rallies have attracted thousands of Republicans before and often look more like a rock concert than a political rally. His speech at CPAC was no different as conservatives cheered for the 45th president as he attacked Biden’s catastrophic behavior with America’s borders and economy.
Throughout the four-day conference, CPAC attendees were asked a range of questions about the Republican Party and its future but likely no question was more important than who would they support if the 2024 presidential primary were being held now. The results made it clear that Trump still maintains a tight grip on the Republican Party, though some have attempted to claim otherwise, with 59.1% of respondents saying they would support Trump.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second place with 28. 4% of attendees saying they hoped he would be the party’s choice in 2024. DeSantis has been a rising star within the Republican Party over his decision to stand firm and keep Florida open throughout the Covid-19 pandemic when most Democrat-led states chose to enact restrictive mandates which did little to curb the pandemic but successfully squandered their economies.
Following DeSantis, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came in distant third place with only 1.8% of respondents supporting him as the nominee.
It’s clear that Trump wants to remain in the spotlight, and for good reason, as he all but confirmed his plans to run again for president. During his speech, Trump made it clear that he has every intention of running for president once more to help put America back on the right track.
While Trump has yet to make an official statement because doing so triggers an onslaught of legal barriers associated with fundraising and other campaign-specific measures candidates must follow there was no doubt the message Trump is sending: he’s making a comeback and this time he’s going to win.
