Donald Trump will reportedly deliver a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida this weekend in which he will claim the mantle of power in the GOP by saying he is “still in charge.”
A longtime adviser to the former President tells Axios that the speech will be a “show of force” in which he will announce, “I may not have Twitter or the Oval Office, but I’m still in charge.”
Going a step further, Trump is expected to argue that he is still the man to drain the Washington swamp as the Republican “presumptive 2024 nominee.”
Trump will be making his speech on Sunday, the final day of the conference.
During the week, Axios adds, “advisers will meet with him at Mar-a-Lago” where they will “plan his next political moves” and “set up the machinery for kingmaking in the 2022 midterms.”
? ? Scoop: Trump to claim total control of GOP / plans years-long payback campaign…https://t.co/eh7rO1h3OF
— Jim VandeHei (@JimVandeHei) February 22, 2021
RELATED: Majority of Trump Voters Say They Will Follow Him to Another Party and Abandon the GOP
Is Trump In Charge of the Republican Party?
Donald Trump certainly seems to have the numbers to back up his claims of being in charge of the Republican party.
A poll released this past weekend indicates nearly 50 percent of Trump voters would follow the former President to a new party and abandon the GOP altogether.
A vast majority of GOP voters want to see him play a big role in the future of the party, including running again in 2024.
Trump is strategically leaving that option open to give him leverage within the party and with voters.
?PARTY OF TRUMP
– Trump’s looking to assert himself as top 2024 contender via CPAC speech, sources tell @mikeallen
– His leadership PAC has $75 million on hand & database of tens of millions of names
– Even if he doesn’t run, these stunts give him powerhttps://t.co/HcnsTXEYBj— Sara Fischer (@sarafischer) February 22, 2021
“Trump effectively is the Republican Party,” Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told Axios. “The only chasm is between Beltway insiders and grassroots Republicans around the country.”
He added, “When you attack President Trump, you’re attacking the Republican grassroots.”
A longtime adviser called Trump’s speech a “show of force,” and said the message will be: “I may not have Twitter or the Oval Office, but I’m still in charge.” Payback is his chief obsession. https://t.co/ohQpzSBabd
— Axios (@axios) February 22, 2021
RELATED: ‘Never-Trump’ Republicans Looking To Form Their Own Party
Who Is In Charge of the GOP?
Miller’s point is one of the more important ones that establishment Republicans don’t seem to understand.
When they attack Trump, they don’t just do so as a matter of principle. They do so with disdain and a personal vendetta which reflects poorly to and upon his supporters.
As an example, a group led by former independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin announced recently that they are considering forming their own political party.
In his statement regarding the anti-Trump party, McMullin portrayed supporters of the former President as extremists who are a threat to the country.
“Large portions of the Republican Party are radicalizing and threatening American democracy,” McMullin told Reuters. “The party needs to recommit to truth, reason and founding ideals or there clearly needs to be something new.”
The biggest threat to American democracy has been, and always will be, the Democrat party – McMullin and the anti-Trumpers good friends.
The Zoom was co-hosted by @EvanMcMullin, who ran as an independent in the 2016 presidential election. Participants included Trump Homeland Security officials @JohnMitnick and @NeuSummits, and former congressman @RepCharlieDent https://t.co/8pQBUlXMBw 3/6 pic.twitter.com/geSHnkKHMO
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 11, 2021
Axios notes that Trump stands ready to support candidates who share his vision for America in the 2022 midterms and has the backing of state-level officials, many of whom censured Republicans who voted in lockstep with Democrats on impeachment.
The former president’s speech will claim “many of his predictions about President Biden have already come true” and that “much like 2016, we’re taking on Washington again.”
That includes everybody in Washington on both sides of the political aisle.
