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Donald Trump tells CPAC crowd: 'I am your retribution'

Trump attacked the Biden administration, calling it the most “corrupt administration in American history.”
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023.
Posted at 7:54 PM, Mar 04, 2023
and last updated 2023-03-04 19:54:39-05

This Saturday marked the last day of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland, a massive annual conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the U.S. and around the world.

Former President Donald Trump spoke at the conference, urging GOP voters to back him for president.  

The conference was heavily filled with pro-Trump supporters, almost resembling a pro-Trump rally, promising to win the 2024 presidential campaign.

While talking to his supporters, Trump promised if elected he is going to “finish what we started” and “Make America Great Again.”

Trump, who lost his reelection in 2020 and was later accused of inspiring an insurrection at the nation's Capitol, attacked the Biden administration. He called it the most "corrupt administration in American history." Trump also called out GOP leaders like Republican Mitt Romney.

Many Republican lawmakers did not attend the conference, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely seen as Trump’s biggest competitor if he decides to run for president.

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Trump easily won the conference poll – a poll that asks attendees who should be the Republican nominee for president in the 2024 election – by receiving 62% of the support.  

"In 2016 I declared I am your voice, today I add I am your warrior, your justice and for those have been wronged or betrayed, I am your retribution," said Trump.

A familiar face did attend the conference this week, Trump’s former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who is running against Trump, she asked for voter support and presented herself as the face of a “new generation” of Republican leadership to a room full of Trump supporters.  

She has criticized GOP politicians considering a bid for the presidency – including President Joe Biden, who has indicated he plans to run for reelection but hasn’t formally announced it – saying politicians over the age of 75 need to be subject to a mental competency test. Yes, this would include Trump.   

“China thinks the American era has passed; so do our enemies. But they're wrong. America is not past our prime. It's just that our politicians are past theirs,” said Haley, who is 51.

Others are expected to throw their names in the running, including possibly former vice president Mike Pence and Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.