National Harbor (United States) (AFP) – Donald Trump’s first month back in the White House has been “a hell of a lot of fun,” US Vice President JD Vance told a fired-up crowd of American conservatives Thursday as they celebrated the billionaire’s return to power. “The president keeps us on a pretty breakneck pace,” Vance told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on the outskirts of the capital Washington. Trump “is acutely aware that the American people gave us a window to save the country and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. And thank God for that, because it’s been a hell of a lot of fun the past month,” Vance, 40, said.
The Republican president has issued a blizzard of executive orders in the short weeks since his inauguration. They have targeted a slew of right-wing priorities such as cutting government spending, tightening immigration restrictions, and ending programs meant to combat racism and inequality in the workplace. His partisan base has applauded the moves, and CPAC attendees reveled in his bombastic return.
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The annual conservative conference has become ever more focused on celebrating Trump personally. This year, along with Vance, numerous officials from his administration and allies in Congress are expected to attend, including White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Trump himself is set to address the conference on Saturday. He gave a somber speech at the event in 2024 when he was running for president, describing the United States as a “nightmare” under Joe Biden.
Several right-wing and far-right leaders from around the world will also speak at the convention, including Argentina’s President Javier Milei, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. European conservative party leaders such as France’s Jordan Bardella, Britain’s Nigel Farage, and former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will also attend. Many are seeking inspiration back home following Trump’s successful comeback.
Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss gave a speech on the convention’s main stage on Thursday in which she said “patriotic Brits…look across the Atlantic with envy.” “We want a Trump revolution in Britain,” she said, lauding his ally Elon Musk. “We want Elon and his nerd-army of Musk-rats examining the British deep state. We want to be part of the second American revolution.”
© 2024 AFP
