President Trump made a bold return to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), celebrating his retribution against the Biden administration and highlighting his efforts to reshape the government. He proclaimed victory over “radical-left bureaucrats” and promised revenge on perceived political enemies. Trump, addressing pardoned attendees from the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, called for a “judgment day” for those he believes have misled the public. His speech underscored his continued influence in the Republican Party, framed by his legal troubles, while drawing support from figures associated with the Capitol riot, cementing his dominance at CPAC.
President Trump celebrated his return to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, enthusiastically sharing his acts of retaliation against the Biden administration with a crowd of devoted followers, including those he had previously pardoned for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Two years after proclaiming at CPAC, a key conservative event, that “I am your retribution,” Mr. Trump took a moment to bask in his significant endeavors to reshape the federal landscape, which included the dismissal of thousands of federal employees and the dismantling of the primary international development agency.
“We have shown the radical-left bureaucrats the exit and secured the doors,” Mr. Trump stated. “We’ve eliminated thousands.”
The speech unfolded in the context of a conference that had aimed for days to frame Mr. Trump’s potential second term as a pivotal moment in a global and growing campaign by right-wing political factions against the institutions and norms they perceive as oppressive.
Mr. Trump later remarked, “I put an end to Joe Biden’s weaponization immediately upon taking office. I declared, ‘I’m going to fight him with the same tactics.’”
At both the 2023 CPAC and during last year’s campaign, after facing numerous state and federal felony charges, Mr. Trump consistently promised vengeance against his political foes. He assured supporters that his election would be a “judgment day” for “the liars, cheaters, fraudsters, censors, and impostors who have seized control of our government.”
On Saturday, Mr. Trump proclaimed that this quest for revenge was already in full swing.
“The fraudsters, liars, cheaters, globalists, and deep-state bureaucrats are being expelled,” he declared, overseeing a movement aimed at significantly reducing the federal bureaucracy.
As his speech drew to a close, Mr. Trump took time to focus on the ongoing criminal investigations surrounding him and the critique—or arrests—faced by individuals promoting his unfounded claims regarding the 2020 election.
He specifically mentioned Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder known for advocating Mr. Trump’s false assertions of widespread election fraud, who had federal agents seize his phone in 2022 and is currently embroiled in multiple defamation lawsuits related to his allegations. “That man endured a lot,” Mr. Trump commented about Mr. Lindell, referring to the actions of the “F.B.I. agents” against him.
“And he has never wavered,” Mr. Trump said. “He insisted that the 2020 election was rigged.” Now, Mr. Trump chuckled, “It’s acceptable to say it, Mike.”
Meeting supporters in the hall after his speech, Mr. Lindell recounted a recent two and a half hour meeting with Mr. Trump at the White House, where they discussed voting systems and Mr. Lindell’s goal to revert to all-paper ballots for elections.
“I’m not finished yet,” asserted Mr. Lindell, who faces defamation lawsuits from Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic. “I’m going to eliminate the machines. How many times have I said that?”
A group of pardoned individuals from January 6 gathered in the rear of the ballroom where Mr. Trump spoke, enthusiastically cheering and displaying records from their time in prison, chanting “J6! J6!” One woman called out to the president, “Thank you for the pardon!”
“Thanks to that man right there, I’m no longer a felon,” Gregory Yetman, a former military policeman from Helmetta, N.J., stated as Mr. Trump spoke. Mr. Yetman, 48, who pleaded guilty to assaulting an officer at the Capitol, was serving his sentence in a federal prison in western Pennsylvania when he was released last month. While watching Mr. Trump’s speech, Mr. Yetman proudly displayed his old prison ID badge on the lapel of his suit jacket.
Mr. Trump has been a presence at CPAC since 2011, when he contemplated a run for the 2012 Republican primary against President Barack Obama. He has utilized the conference to launch attacks on political opponents and to articulate his vision for his administration.
Last year, Mr. Trump made his numerous legal challenges a central theme of his campaign strategy.
Like virtually all aspects of the Republican Party since 2016, the event—which was once a gathering for steadfast conservatives with a libertarian edge championed by Representative Ron Paul—has transformed into a reflection of Mr. Trump’s influence.
Initially, Mr. Trump attended CPAC as an outsider, addressing the convention as a former Democrat and political novice with few allies in the Republican Party. After winning the 2016 election, he quickly began to dominate the event. By 2020, he had unmistakably turned the gathering into a tribute to himself, his family, and his “Make America Great Again” ideology.
Even post-defeat in the 2020 election, Mr. Trump retained substantial support among conference attendees in 2021, using that address to settle scores with dissenters in the party. The loudest cheers during that address came when he promised to remove Republicans who had criticized him or failed to back his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Numerous key figures from the January 6 riot were prominent at CPAC this week and attended Mr. Trump’s speech on Saturday. Notable among them was Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys leader, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and subsequently pardoned by Mr. Trump, before being arrested yesterday on assault charges.
Also present was Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy related to the Capitol riots and served an 18-year prison term before Mr. Trump commuted his sentence to time served. Mr. Rhodes, mentioning he had not communicated with anyone in the new administration since his release, set ambitious expectations for Mr. Trump’s potential second term.
“I just hope he goes full throttle—within constitutional limits,” Mr. Rhodes commented prior to the president’s address. “I hope he follows through completely.”