OXON HILL, Md. — Former President Donald Trump labeled the November presidential election a “doomsday” and declared himself a “proud political dissident” during a speech to conservative activists outside Washington on Saturday as he once again wrapped his campaign in religious imagery.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on the day of the Republican primaries in South Carolina, Trump outlined an apocalyptic vision of the future if President Joe Biden wins a second term as the two prepare for an expected rematch.
“For hardworking Americans, November 5 will be our new liberation day. But for the liars and deceivers and fraudsters and censors and deceivers who have commandeered our government, it will be the day of judgment,” he said to loud applause. “If we win, the curtain will close on their corrupt rule and the sun will rise on a bright new future for America.”
Trump also cast himself as a “proud political dissident” days after comparing himself to Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, the main political opponent of Russian autocratic leader Vladimir Putin, who died in a remote Arctic prison after being jailed by the leader of the Kremlin.
“I stand before you today only as your past and hopefully future president, but as a proud political dissident. I am a dissident,” he told the crowd.
Trump spoke at this year’s CPAC rally as voters headed to the polls in South Carolina. The former president is widely expected to defeat his last remaining Republican primary rival, Nikki Haley, in the state where she served two terms as governor. While Haley has pledged to stay in the race until next month’s “Super Tuesday” — when more than a dozen states will vote — Trump’s campaign hopes he can reach the delegate threshold to clinch the nomination in March .
Last year, Trump used his speech at CPAC to tell his supporters that his 2024 campaign would be one of “retaliation.”
“In 2016 I declared: I am your voice. Today I add: I am your warrior. I am your righteousness. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your recompense,” he said at the time.
This time, he cast himself as a savior standing between his supporters and near-anarchy, speaking of “hordes of illegal aliens storming our borders,” warning that the country’s social safety net and education system would “buckle and collapse” , claiming that “the gangs will invade your territory.”
“This is the stakes of this election: Our country is being destroyed and the only thing standing between you and its destruction is me,” he declared, describing Biden’s leadership as “an express train hurtling toward servitude and ruin.”
“A vote for Trump is your ticket back to freedom, it is your passport out of tyranny and it is your only escape from the fast track to hell of Joe Biden and his gang. And in many ways we are living in hell right now,” he said, adding: “the unprecedented success of the United States of America will be my ultimate and absolute revenge.”
According to the latest FBI statistics, violent crime is down across the country. And despite public perception, recent figures on the economy have shown that growth accelerated last year, while inflation returned closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. This proves Wall Street and academic economists who predicted a recession wrong.
This year’s CPAC conference featured a parade of Republican lawmakers and MAGA personalities who blasted Trump’s attacks on Biden’s border policies, his handling of the economy and his claim that the 91 felony charges in four separate jurisdictions he faces , have repeated, are nothing more than a baseless attempt. by the Biden administration to damage his candidacy.
The lineup included a handful of Republican vice presidential candidates, including former candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, as well as foreign leaders such as El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, former British Prime Minister Liz Truss and the President of Argentina. wing populist Javier Milei.
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Colvin reported from Columbia, South Carolina.
