OXON HILL, Maryland: Former US president Donald Trump said Saturday (Mar 4) that he would continue his third presidential campaign even if indicted.
“Absolutely, I wouldn’t even think about leaving,” Trump told reporters ahead of a speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.
Trump is under investigation by prosecutors probing his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election as well as his handling of classified documents, among other issues.
Trump delivered the conference’s headlining speech Saturday night, telling a cheering crowd of supporters that he was engaged in his “final battle” as he tries to return to the White House.
“We are going to finish what we started,” he said. “We’re going to complete the mission. We’re going to see this battle through to ultimate victory.”
While CPAC was once a must-stop for candidates mulling Republican presidential runs, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is seen as a top potential Trump challenger, and other major likely contenders have skipped this year’s gathering amid scandal and as the group has increasingly become aligned with Trump.
The former president’s enduring popularity with this segment of voters was on display throughout the conference this week. Some attendees wore Trump-themed outfits, with “MAGA” hats and sequined jackets. Potential and declared candidates not named Trump received only tepid applause.
And the annual CPAC straw poll, an unscientific survey of attendees, found Trump the top choice to be the party’s nominee, with 62 per cent support, trailed by DeSantis at 20 per cent and businessman Perry Johnson, who announced his long-shot bid at the conference, with 5 per cent.
Nearly all – 95 per cent of respondents – said they approved of Trump’s performance as president.
“This is an audience that supports President Trump,” said Representative Elise Stefanik, R-NY, the No. 3 House Republican, who endorsed Trump days before he officially launched his 2024 campaign.
The only member of House leadership to attend the conference, Stefanik told The Associated Press that Trump continued to be the party’s leader.
“President Trump is in a very strong position and I think he will be the Republican nominee,” she said.
While his potential challengers for the White House were pitching themselves to conservative donors near his Florida home, Trump, in his speech, repeatedly criticised the Republican establishment, which is eager to move past the former president.
“We had a Republican Party that was ruled by freaks, neo-cons, globalists, open borders zealots and fools. But we are never going back to the party of Paul Ryan, Karl Rove and Jeb Bush,” he said.
