NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—With just under eight months left until the nation decides the next presidential election, former President Donald Trump is warning voters of what a second term of President Joe Biden would look like.
“Four years ago, I told you that if crooked Joe Biden got to the White House, our borders would be abolished, our middle class would be decimated, and our communities would be plagued by bloodshed, chaos, and violent crime,” President Trump said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on Feb. 24.
“We were right about everything,” he said. “So, believe me when I offer you another warning. … If Crooked Joe Biden and his thugs win in 2024, the worst is yet to come.”
Another four years of President Biden, President Trump contended, would result in the nation being overrun by “40 to 50 million” illegal immigrants and the subsequent collapse of Social Security, Medicare, and the public education system. And the current administration’s green energy policies, he said, would destroy millions of manufacturing jobs while pitching the nation into darkness.
Inflation, he added, would be “rampant,” and suburbanites would be forced to defend their families from gang violence. “The gangs will be invading your territory, I can tell you that, while weaponized law enforcement hunts for conservatives and people of faith.”
Meanwhile, Americans would fall prey to terrorists within its borders and China in a third World War.
“These are the stakes of this election,” President Trump said. “Our country is being destroyed, and the only thing standing between you and its obliteration is me.”
Haley in the Rearview
While the 45th president hammered his successor on everything from his policies to his mental competence, there was one person he did not attack during his speech: fellow GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley.And that appears to have been by design.
In the lead-up to his speech, the messaging from the former president’s spokespeople was clear: their eyes are on November.
“The primary ends tonight and it is time to turn to the general election so we can defeat Crooked Joe and end his assault on the American people,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said.
President Trump delivered the speech just hours before the results of South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary were set to start rolling in.
A similar situation in New Hampshire is believed to have helped Ms. Haley in that primary contest. But heading into the weekend, Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared unconcerned with the possibility that crossover voters could catapult Ms. Haley to a surprise victory.
“We are 100 percent confident that President Trump will have another big victory in Nikki Haley’s home turf of South Carolina tomorrow night, and then our focus will turn 100 percent on defeating Joe Biden and the radical left Democrats in November,” Ms. Leavitt told Fox Business on Feb. 23.
‘Unfiltered Trump’
President Trump’s remarks were well-received by Washington native Darren Moten, who said he appreciates the candidate’s demeanor.“He’s a genuine, down-to-earth, real individual. And it’s not hard to see that,” Mr. Moten told The Epoch Times.
With President Trump, he said, voters know what they’re getting, unlike with other politicians who pander to secure votes. “I don’t hear that with him. And I look for someone that’s genuine and sincere. And you see he really cares about the people.”
For John Leisenring of Arlington, Virginia, the former president’s method of delivery was also worthy of praise.
“Initially when I first saw Trump, I thought he was pretty good. Now, he’s a master because he’s usually one part stand-up comic, one part great communicator, one part statesman. … I mean, he’s got all these different elements to him. This was just unadulterated, unfiltered Trump.”
That view was shared by Jeffrey Evely of Nova Scotia, an Afghanistan and Iraq war veteran who traveled to the event as part of a Canadian contingent of conservatives.
In Mr. Evely’s view, President Trump’s speeches are “masterful” because he doesn’t stick to a script.
“It’s more personable, there’s a lot of jokes in there, it’s pretty witty. … His personality—I just get a kick out of it.”
But for Jenn Baker of Gloucester, Virginia, the substance of President Trump’s speech—particularly his claim to being a “political dissident”—really hit home.
“I think we all are, really. I mean, as far as a conservative movement, we are all feeling that way. And especially people like myself, who’s an advocate for political prisoners in jail right now, in prison. I feel like that.”
