Trump returns to CPAC as president: ‘We are the party of common sense’

Donald Trump returned to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) as president. The Republican spoke for more than an hour in which he highlighted the accomplishments of his first month in office, threatened foreign criminal gangs, defended Elon Musk and called on the Senate to vote in favor of Lori Chavez-DeRemer, his nominee for the Department of Labor.

The president was introduced by the Schlapp couple, Matt and Mercedes, and entered with “God Bless the USA” playing in the background. Dressed in his trademark blue suit, which he paired this time with a pink tie, he began by thanking all the cabinet members present at the event, as well as international leaders such as Javier Milei from Argentina, Andrzej Duda from Poland and Robert Fico from Slovakia. He also highlighted the presence of Santiago Abascal of Spain and Eduardo Bolsonaro of Brazil.

"The people have given us a resounding mandate for dramatic change in Washington, and we are going to deliver it... and we are going to Make America Great Again by using it. ... We’re rescuing the Americans whose jobs have been stolen, whose wages have been robbed, and whose way of life has been absolutely destroyed. Under the Trump administration, our country will not be turned into a dumping ground," Trump began.

‘We are the party of common sense’

In turn, Trump thanked Hispanics for their support in the past presidential election, "We won the largest number of Hispanic-American votes, any Republican ever. Hispanic-Americans, we love you! The energy, the brilliance of Hispanic-Americans."

"Our party has become — but that was when I first heard about it, actually. Our party has become the proud voice of hardworking citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed. We are the party of common sense. It's about common sense, right? It's all about common sense," he added.

Among other things, he highlighted the work of Elon Musk at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whom he invited to Fort Knox to inspect gold reserves. He also promised to end "fraud" in Social Security. "We will not allow anyone to cheat our seniors and those who do that will be prosecuted," the president continued.

In addition, he called on the Senate to confirm Chavez-DeRemer, whom he defined as "center-left," for the Labor Department. "Unions like him. Labor likes him. I think it's good to give them a person in the center," he assured.

On the Ukraine war

After a week loaded with news regarding the war between Ukraine and Russia, with negotiations in Saudi Arabia and stinging back-and-forth between Trump and Volodimir Zelenski, the Republican reaffirmed his intention to "resolve the war and to put an end to all those deaths."

He also referred to a possible agreement with Ukraine for access to Ukrainian rare earth mineral deposits as a way to compensate for disbursements made during the war.

"We’re going to get our money back, because it’s not it’s not fair, it’s just not fair. And we will see, but I think we’re pretty close to a deal, and we better be close to a deal, because that has been a horrible situation. It would have never happened if I were president," Trump said.

Trump went back on the attack against Maine's governor

The president also used the time to refloat his feud with Janet Mills, the Democratic governor of Maine. The two crossed paths during the latest National Governors Association reception at the White House over enforcement of the executive order to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.

"You saw Maine yesterday, right? The governor of Maine? She’s fighting to keep men in women’s sports. You ever see what happens to a woman, when a woman boxes a man who transitioned to womanhood? Did you ever see what happens? It’s not pretty," he expressed.