[AP Photo/John Raoux]

Courtney Balcombe

News Editor

clb6264@psu.edu

On February 28th, former President Donald Trump finally took to stage for the first time since his election loss in January. He called for Republican Party unity, speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

“Do you miss me yet?” Trump said after taking the stage to his old rally soundtrack and cheers from the supportive crowd.

This year’s conference was held in Orlando instead of Washington because of COVID-19 restrictions. Speakers, including many people hopeful for a 2024 presidential run from Trump, have argued the party must embrace the former president and his followers, even after the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.

According to PennLive, Trump continued to repeat what Democrats have dubbed the “big lie,” calling the election “rigged” and insisting that he won in November, even though he lost by more than 7 million votes.

According to the Associated Press (AP), 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 10 House Republicans and seven GOP senators who voted to impeach or convict him for inciting the U.S. Capitol riot.

His supporters even repeated in panel after panel his unfounded claims that he lost reelection only because of mass voter fraud, even though such claims have been rejected by judges, Republican state officials, and Trump’s own administration.

“As you know, they just lost the White House,” Trump said, rewriting history as he teased the prospect that he will run again in 2024. “I may even decide to beat them for the third time.”

AP even reported that 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 “deserves my silence” and took up painting.

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.

Trump especially singled out Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, who voted in favor of impeachment, describing her as “the warmonger, a person who loves seeing our troops fighting.”

“I’m going to continue to fight right by your side. We’re not starting new parties,” Trump said. “We have the Republican Party. It’s going to be strong and united like never before.”

Yet Trump spent much of the speech lashing out at those he has deemed insufficiently loyal and dubbed “RINOs” — Republican in name only — for failing to stand with him.

“We 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,” Trump said.

According to the AP, the conference’s annual unscientific straw poll of just over 1,000 attendees found that 97 percent approve of the job Trump did as president. But they were much more ambiguous about whether he should run again, with 68 percent saying he should.

AP reported that if the 2024 primary were held today and Trump were in the race, just 55 percent said they would vote for him, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 21 percent. Without Trump in the field, DeSantis garnered 43 percent support, followed by 8 percent for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and 7 percent each for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

While Trump no longer has his social media platforms after being banned from both Twitter and Facebook, he has already been inching back into public life. He called into conservative news outlets after Rush Limbaugh’s death and to wish Tiger Woods well after the pro golfer was injured in a car crash.

Trump has also 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 “absolutely” support Trump if he were the GOP nominee in 2024.