Former president Donald Trump delivered a rambling and defiant speech on Saturday night, after winning the South Carolina Republican primary and securing his fourth consecutive victory in the 2024 presidential race, as reported by the Independent on Monday, February 26, 2024.
Mr Trump, who is facing multiple legal challenges and investigations over his role in the January 6 insurrection, his business dealings, and his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, claimed that he had not resigned in disgrace like other politicians who faced similar charges.
“I’m not like these other guys. They get indicted, and they quit. They get impeached, and they quit. They get caught, they quit. Not me. I’m still here. I’m still fighting. I’m still winning,” Mr Trump said, drawing cheers from his loyal supporters.
Mr Trump also aimed at his potential rival in the general election, President Joe Biden, whom he accused of destroying the country with his policies on immigration, health care, energy, and foreign affairs.
“We’re going to be up here on November 5, and we’re going to look at Joe Biden,” Mr Trump said.
“He’s destroying our country and we’re gonna say ‘Joe, you’re fired. Get out. Get out, Joe. You’re fired.'”
Mr Trump repeated his baseless claims that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen from him and vowed to restore “honesty and integrity” to the White House.
He also mocked Mr Biden’s age and mental acuity, saying that he was “sleepy, slow, and senile.”
“He doesn’t know where he is. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He doesn’t know who he’s talking to. He doesn’t know what he’s signing. He’s a puppet of the radical left,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump also attacked some of his former allies and rivals within the Republican Party, such as former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former Attorney General William Barr, and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, whom he defeated in the primary.
He called them “weak, pathetic, and disloyal” and said they had betrayed him and the MAGA movement.
He praised his loyal supporters, such as senators Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and Rand Paul, and congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, whom he called “the future of the Republican Party.”
He also thanked his family, especially his wife Melania, whom he called “the most beautiful and elegant first lady ever.”
Earlier in the day, Mr Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, where he received a warm welcome from the conservative activists and media personalities.
He used his almost 90-minute speech to rail against the Biden administration, the mainstream media, the tech giants, the “deep state”, the “cancel culture”, and the “woke mob”.
He also compared himself to notorious gangster Al Capone, and said that migrants coming to the US were like serial killer Hannibal Lecter, claiming that they were coming from “insane asylums” and bringing crime, drugs, and disease.
He said that his anti-Biden messaging efforts had created a “new category of crime” called “migrant crime”.
He also hinted at his possible comeback in 2024, saying that “the journey is far from over” and that he would “make America great again, again.”
Mr Trump’s speech was met with applause and chants of “We love you” and “Four more years” from his fans, who also booed and jeered whenever he mentioned his opponents or critics.
Mr Trump’s speech was also criticized by many Democrats, journalists, and experts, who said that he was spreading lies, inciting violence, and undermining democracy.
