I am your retribution: Trump’s fiery address at ‘MAGApalooza’ event, slams ‘warmonger’ Democrats and Republican ‘fools’

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday delivered a fiery address at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held outside the national capital, Washington.

‘We are going to finish what we started, Trump who donned a dark suit, white shirt and trademark red tie, said as he took to the stage, prompting his supporters to chant ‘Four more years, four more years!’

During the prestigious closing speech specially reserved for him, he spoke in his characteristic authoritarian tone, warning that he was the only candidate who could save America from ‘warmonger’ Democrats and the "zealots and fools" of the mainstream Republican party.

He told the conservatives that Americans were ‘in an epic struggle’ to rescue the country from the ‘people who hate it and want to absolutely destroy it.’

‘We had a Republican Party that was ruled by freaks, neocons, globalists, open border zealots and fools,’ Trump said, singling out multiple luminaries of the traditional party by name.

He said that the people were tired of "entrenched political dynasties in both parties, rotten special interests, China-loving politicians" and supporters of "endless foreign wars."

Expressing his disapproval over US aid for Ukraine, he cautioned that ‘We're going to have Word War III if something doesn't happen fast’.

Taking a dig at the current US president Joe Biden, he said that it was the ‘most dangerous time in our country’s history, and Joe Biden is leading us into oblivion’.

‘I am the only candidate who can make this promise; I will prevent World War III’, Trump said during his 100-minute speech.

The delegates heckled his only declared Republican rival and US presidential candidate Nikki Haley repeatedly, during and after her appearance on Friday at the convention.

Haley had on Friday targeted Trump without naming him directly, over his age calling on the conservatives to have trust in a ‘new generation’ of leaders.

The former South Carolina governor has so far centered her attacks on 76-year-old Trump, calling again for a ‘competency test’ for politicians older than 75.

Haley, 51, who Trump tapped in 2017 to serve as United Nations ambassador, is the first candidate of note to challenge the billionaire for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Even after two years of leaving the White House, Trump's hold on the party is strong. His far-right ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) agenda, which swept him to power in 2016, has taken over CPAC, which was until recently, a premier annual gathering of grassroots conservative leaders in America.

The pundits have been lately referring to the event as ‘MAGApalooza’.

The former president left office in disgrace after two impeachments and a failed attempt to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden in the 2020 election, culminating in a deadly riot at the US Capitol, reports The Guardian.

Even as he faces an array of criminal investigations, he announced yet another run for president last November at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The event featured speeches from some of the country's most committed Trumpists and Brazil's defeated former President Jair Bolsonaro. However, many potential 2024 candidates and Republican leadership skipped the convention.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence, who led the pack chasing Trump, skipped the event.

The conference drew a lesser crowd than usual this time with rows of seating left vacant during the speeches. However, the room was packed when Trump took the stage.

While the vendors at the event sold books, dating apps and even WiFi services specifically marketed for conservatives, the hats, flags, mugs and other merchandise on offer was almost exclusively aimed at Trump fans.

‘But when 90% of the people in this country want Donald Trump, he should win anyway, even with the crooked elections,’ said Trump’s celebrity ally Mike Lindell, who along with Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon walked the halls of the National Harbor convention center, treated like royalty.

Before Trump took to the stage, it was revealed that he had won the convention's straw poll of potential Republican leaders with 62% of the vote with DeSantis a distant second at 20%.

‘In 2016, I declared: I am your voice. Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution,’ Trump said.

‘I will totally obliterate the deep state. I will fire the unelected bureaucrats and shadow forces who have weaponised our justice system. And I will put the people back in charge of this country again’, said the former president.

With inputs from AFP