Donald Trump takes aim at party rivals and Joe Biden in keynote address

In a highly-anticipated address the former US president has slammed Joe Biden and hinted at running for the presidency again.

Donald Trump has thrust himself back into the centre of US conservative politics with a call for unity in his first public address since leaving office.

Declaring that his political aspirations remained firmly intact, he drew cheers as he asked: “Do you miss me yet? Do you miss me. Lot of things going on.”

“We went through a journey like nobody else,” Mr Trump said.

“We began it together four years ago and it is far from being over.”

Mr Trump also put to rest the question of starting a new political party, something he had reportedly considered as several prominent Republicans turned on him in the fallout from the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.

“I’m going to continue to fight right by your side,” he said.

“We are not starting new parties … we have the Republican party.”

“That was fake news.

“Wouldn’t that be brilliant let’s start a new party, let’s divide our vote so that you can never win. No we’re not interested in that.”

Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Florida. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

Speaking to loyalists at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Mr Trump bucked protocol and slammed the performance of his successor, declaring Joe Biden’s first five weeks in the White House had been a “disaster”.

“We all knew that the Biden administration was going to be bad but none of us imagined just how bad they would be,” he said.

“We didn’t know how far left they would be.”

Mr Trump stopped short of confirming he was going to run again for president and repeated his false claim that he was the rightful winner of the November election.

“Actually, as you know they (Democrats) just lost the White House,” Mr Trump claimed to cheers.

“Who knows, who knows, I may even decide to beat them for a third time. OK?”

He also warned that Mr Biden’s immigration reforms had prompted a wave of illegal immigrants who would soon be at the country’s southern borders.

“They are all coming because of promises and foolish words,” he said.

“Perhaps worst of all, Joe Biden’s decision to cancel border security has single-handedly launched a youth migrant crisis that is enriching child smugglers, vicious criminal cartels and some of the most evil people on the planet.

Donald Trump stopped short of saying he would run for the US presidency again. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

“We stopped the child smugglers, we dismantled the criminal cartels …

“We protected vulnerable people from the ravages of dangerous predators, but the Biden administration has put the vile coyotes back in business.”

Mr Trump waited until the final day of CPAC to appear but his presence had loomed large over the three-day event at which several speakers repeated his claims of election fraud.

Attendees gave him a 97 per cent job approval rating and 68 per cent said he should run again in 2024, in straw polling at the event, ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, South Dakota Governor Kristy Noem and Donald Trump Jnr.

Earlier Sunday, he was declared “the real, the actual, the legitimate and the still actual president” by Goya Foods CEO Robert Unane.

In a measure of how many Americans still don’t accept Mr Biden’s win, the businessman who heads one of the country’s biggest Latin ingredient suppliers again said that Mr Trump was the legitimate president.

“We still have faith that the majority of the people of the United States voted for the president,” he said.

Trump took aim at Joe Biden during the speech. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

“I think a great majority of the people in the United States voted for President Trump, and even a few Democrats.”

Speaking ahead of Mr Trump’s address, Ohio congressman Jim Jordan drew a standing ovation and chants of “USA, USA” when he said Mr Trump was still the leader of the Republican party.

“President Trump is the leader of the conservative movement, he’s the leader of the America First movement, he’s the leader of the Republican party,” he said.

“And I hope on January 20, 2025, he is once again the leader of our great country.”

Mr Trump was acquitted last month after a short impeachment trial in which he was accused of “incitement of insurrection” for encouraging his supporters to protest at Congress where Mr Biden’s election win was being certified.

Seven Republican senators declared him guilty but it was not enough to form the two-thirds majority necessary to convict.

Those senators and prominent anti-Trump House Republicans were also expected to be targeted by Mr Trump in his address after several days of criticism from other attendees.

Mr Trump’s address started more than an hour after scheduled.

People take a picture with former President Donald Trump's statue. Picture: AFP

‘TRUMP AIN’T GOIN ANYWHERE’

On Friday, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said in his fired-up address: “Let me tell you right now. Donald J. Trump ain’t goin’ anywhere”.

Mr Cruz is among a parade of presidential aspirants, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who are trying to prove their conservative bona fides for 2024 to the nation’s top right-wing leaders.

Mr DeSantis started proceedings by urging lockdown-weary out-of-staters to make the Sunshine State their permanent home, the New York Post said.

By the time the annual gathering ends, conservatives will have heard from such White House hopefuls as Mr Cruz, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Senator Tom Cotton. Picture: AFP

“Mark my words,” Mr Cruz said.

“2022 is going to be a fantastic election year and so is 2024, as we stand together and defend liberty, defend the Constitution, defend the Bill of Rights of every American. In the immortal words of William Wallace: Freedom!

Mr Hawley, one of the party’s most strident voices against cancel culture, called for the break-up of big tech “oligarchs,” who he accused of silencing conservatives and selling the US down the river to China.

“What we need is a new nationalism, a new agenda to make the rule of the people real in this country,” he said. “I would start by breaking up the Big Tech corporations. Just break them up. Break them up in the name of the rule of the people, for the good of the American people and our liberty.”

Senator Ted Cruz. Picture: AFP

The annual Conservative Political Action Conference has long played a role as a proving ground for Republican presidential candidates. Mr Trump first spoke at the conference in 2011 and has been a regular ever since.

“The theme is America uncancelled. It’s an opportunity to allow people to speak up and speak what they believe,” said Mercedes Schlapp, a former Trump White House communications director. Her husband Matt serves as chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC.

In the modern GOP, however, none can appear too eager for the top job until former president Trump himself rules it out. He is almost certain to win CPAC’s Sunday straw poll, an early indicator of 2024 grassroots enthusiasm for a candidate.

“Now is the time to get that ground game. We can’t make the mistake of waiting three months, six months before an election,” Rob O’Donnell, a CPAC participant and retired NYPD detective, said. “The ground game needs to start now. It needs to start the day after the last election.”

Senator Josh Hawley. Picture: AFP

Though the annual gathering has outwardly projected a show of unity in the wake of Mr Trump’s defeat and losing the Senate, divisions remain.

Former vice president Mike Pence declined an offer to speak this year after regularly attending during Mr Trump’s presidency. Mr Trump fell out with Mr Pence over the latter’s failure to intervene and prevent the certification of the electoral college votes on Jan. 6. A subsequent insurrection, during which the Capitol itself was stormed, leaving five dead.

Donald Trump Junior and partner Kimberly Guilfoyle. Picture: AFP

Originally published as Donald Trump takes aim at party rivals and Joe Biden in keynote address