Trump stages GOP comeback at CPAC by refusing to concede 2020 defeat

Former President Donald Trump teased a 2024 White House bid and relitigated unfounded claims that the November election was stolen, initiating act two of his political career with a rousing speech to adoring supporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference that aimed to solidify his command of the Republican Party.

The address lasted more than one hour, during which Trump twice suggested he was planning a third presidential campaign and several times declared he won reelection in 2020 only to watch the Democrats steal his victory and illegitimately install President Biden. The CPAC crowd of approximately 1,400 that packed a hotel ballroom for Trump’s first public speech since leaving the White House applauded those comments more than any other, alternately chanting, “We love you,” and “You won.”

“Actually, as you know, they just lost the White House,” Trump said early in his remarks, referring to Biden and the Democrats. “But who knows, who knows; I may even decide to beat them for a third time.”