Posted on 02/28/2021 2:30:21 PM PST by Ennis85
Donald Trump will stride into Orlando, Florida, today for his first public engagement since Joe Biden’s inauguration, confident that he remains the biggest political superstar on the planet. The Conservative Political Action conference (CPAC) — the most important gathering of Republican Party activists — is home to his most ardent supporters. The mere mention of his name guarantees whoops and cheers. He is certain to receive a rip-roaring ovation.
I have news for Trump, though. Republican activists love him, but do not want him to lead them in the 2024 presidential elections. They do not think his son Don Jr is ready for primetime at the White House either.
At the conference, our photographer caught Don Jr making the “OK” hand gesture to an acquaintance — a trolling, supposedly humorous mark of “white power” frequently used by far-right groups such as the Proud Boys.
The Anti-Defamation League describes it as racist, although it has a long history of innocent use and was first adopted by alt-right groups as a hoax on the 4chan website, hoping to prompt liberals to overreact.
Its use by Don Jr would have been easily recognised by attendees at the America First Political Action conference, or Afpac — the extreme-right alternative to the CPAC — taking place deliberately down the road. Had Trump’s eldest son stumbled into the wrong convention?
At the official CPAC, Don Jr took to the stage on Friday to the pounding of hard rock music. The audience was pumped, too, and cheered him to the rafters. Yet the private reaction by activists was muted. I heard repeatedly that he lacked the “breadth of experience” to lead the party.
I did meet one huge admirer, Joanna, 24, from California. She said: “Don Jr is the future. He appeals to young voters.” This, interestingly, was in answer to my question about whether his father should run again. She loved Donald Sr, but thought his time as president may have gone.
This might come as a shock to Team Trump, which has been preparing the ground for a whopping comeback. Former chief of staff Mark Meadows said on Fox News as the conference opened that Trump was already “planning for the next administration”.
“You’re going to see a speech on Sunday that not only talks about the beginning, but what the future may look like,” he said. “I spoke to President Trump last night for a fairly lengthy conversation, where we’re talking about America, where it needs to go ... the ‘America first’ agenda.”
Meadows added: “What we will see on Sunday is the start of planning for the next administration, and I can tell you, the people at the top of that list all have Trump as their last name.”
He was referring not just to Trump, but also Don Jr, daughter Ivanka — and perhaps even Lara Trump, the wife of son Eric. I detected no wild enthusiasm for any of them as candidates. Nobody criticised the former president — far from it — but activists are casting around for a successor outside the family firm.
“He did a very good job as president, but there doesn’t have to be a Trump — or son or daughter — in the ring,” said Bill Olson, a former army sergeant and Republican congressional candidate. “It’s not a cult of personality.”
There were plenty of alternative candidates on show in Orlando. Ted Cruz, the senator from Texas, joked that the place reminded him of Des Moines, home of the Iowa caucuses, traditionally the first state to choose presidential nominees. Cruz, thought to be in the doghouse since his trip to Mexico during the big freeze in his home state, curried favour with party members by saying, “Let me tell you, Donald J Trump ain’t going anywhere” — before roaring “Freedom!” at top volume. He was rewarded with a standing ovation.
The Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a rising star for keeping his state open in the midst of the pandemic, did not mention Trump by name but said: “We will not go back to the failed Republican establishment of yesteryear.” And there were huge cheers for Josh Hawley, the Missouri senator who refused to certify Biden’s victory, even after the storming of the Capitol.
Trump merchandise was everywhere: hats, totes, T-shirts. The whole scene seemed so definitively to be Trump home turf that I expected to find fervent support for his return to frontline politics. Yet it appeared that activists had come to praise him — and bury him in syrup.
Karlyn, 40, told me she had been a Democrat until Trump had won her over. Although she sported a Maga mask, she said: “I’m not sure it’s the best idea for him to run again. The media is just going to lie and lie and turn people against him again. Ron DeSantis is the man, or maybe Josh Hawley.” She described herself as “iffy” about Cruz, though did not elaborate further.
Tristan, 22, an admirer of Jacob Rees-Mogg in a wide double-breasted suit, said: “While I’m open to the idea of Trump running in 2024, I think he serves best as a kingmaker. The big problem with the populist movement in America is there is not a lot of funding for it. Perhaps Trump could create a media organisation to help choose who gets the spotlight.” I doubt Trump will thank him for that suggestion.
Anna, 16, a teenage “influencer” from North Carolina, said: “I would like to see someone new who can embody his ideas and policies. The future is going to be less about Trump and more about Trumpism.” She predicted that the baby-faced, alt-right YouTube activist Nick Fuentes had a big future, but thought Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host, should inherit Trump’s mantle: “Tucker has an actual chance to run and is older and more experienced.”
Kira, 34, said she had moved from Los Angeles to Florida to get away from high taxes. She advised Don Jr to run for governor of California — “He would win by a landslide”. As for Trump, she said sorrowfully: “You see, I feel America doesn’t deserve him.” Her money was on Cruz in 2024. “He’s established, but not part of the establishment,” she said.
Despite this, Kira was hoping a bizarre “March 4 miracle” that QAnon conspiracy theorists have been buzzing about all week — that Trump will somehow be inaugurated as president on Friday — will come to pass. “I believe his speech is going to allude to it but not say it outright,” she said mysteriously. We will know by Friday how things have panned out.
I put it to Wayne Dupree, an African-American conservative radio talk show host, that a surprising number of people I had spoken to did not want Trump to run again. “Same thing!” he agreed, saying he shared their views. “I saw what the media did to Donald Trump and his family over the past four years. The way he was attacked for wanting to fix the country was beyond criminal.
“Right now I think he’s more powerful than the president of the United States. Seventy-five million people voted for him [it was actually 74,222,958]. He can sell out any hall and demand a seat at the table with any leader. He’s going to have his library, his plane, his Secret Service. He needs to find somebody who can carry his torch.
“Trump heard what we were saying and took it to a larger platform. But he’s not the only one who can represent us. You go to a dangerous place if you put all your marbles in one bag.”
Could it be possible that all the extravagant praise and homage to Trump is just a polite way of urging him to go away? Cool heads know that he lost the election to Biden, as well as control of the Senate.
Yet if Trump chooses to run, it is highly likely he can brazen his way to the front of the pack. In a split field he can easily win the nomination, and he is expected to win a straw poll later today. He intends in his speech to tear into Biden’s immigration policies — and is likely to lash out today at Republicans who have dared to cross him.
Even Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader and a harsh critic of the storming of the Capitol, said in an interview last week that he would “absolutely” support Trump if he were the candidate. The same was true of everybody I spoke to in Orlando.
The person whose future I wonder about is Don Jr. Is he impatient for the succession? He certainly regards himself as the leading torchbearer of Trumpism. In his speech he tore into Liz Cheney, the third most senior Republican in the House of Representatives, for voting to impeach his father.
For her part, Cheney called on Republicans last week to “make clear we aren’t the party of white supremacy”. It would be unthinkable for mainstream conservatives such as her to adopt the OK symbol flashed by Don Jr.
The Republican Party has a decision to make about its future direction. This weekend it is embracing the path of least resistance.
@SarahBaxterSTM
Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Sarah Baxter is a liar and a fool...
Right.
That is why 350,000 people are watching him speak a CPAC on various YouTube channels...
.
Trump signs are still up everywhere in Southwest Ohio and Southwest Florida.
I can’t remember another candidate that ‘lost the election’ that still had so many signs still up four months later.
Trump is a force to be reckoned with. His supporters aren’t going anywhere without him.
Sarah is a Stolen Election denier.
Who is this idiot and does it know anything about us?
I doubt Biden got more than 50 million. The fraud was that bad.
HA!
750,000 watching.
Yeah, everyone is “tired of Trump.”
.
Apparently, she did not count on Trump’s [awesome] CPAC speech. Wow—he is killing it!
The TIMES, REALLY??? Why post this CRAP???
Wayne doesn’t want Donald to run again?
I guess when ‘celebrities’ make the “OK” sign over one eye, it’s ok, because it’s a secret sign of the Illumaniti and that’s cool and hip?
These people are beyond clownish; they are outright hate filled, bad people.
Who the heck is this hack???
After watching CPAC this did not age well.
Did Mitch and Mitt make it to CPAC?
Sunday Times....a limey newspaper?
These idiots are clueless about the American sign for “OK.”
I don’t think he got above 40 mill...
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