Trump claims 10 million illegal immigrants are ‘bum-rushing’ the US
High-profile Republicans are converging in Orlando, Florida for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference this week, with former President Donald Trump headlining the event on Saturday night.
The conservative confab attracts a who’s who of GOP luminaries. High-profile speakers this year include Donald Trump Jr, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sen Ted Cruz, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, Nigel Farage, and Rep Jim Jordan.
“Big is bad,” Mr Cruz told the crowd. “Across the board. Big government sucks. Big business sucks. Big tech, big Hollywood, big university. Any accumulation of power that is centralised is fundamentally dangerous for individual liberty.”
Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, gave a barnstorming speech to a standing ovation in a clear pitch to be the GOP candidate in 2024 to take on the “Brandon administration”, citing his record with Covid-19 preventing his state becoming a “Faucian dystopia”.
Missouri’s GOP Senator Josh Hawley also slammed the Biden administration, claiming it “emboldened” Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine by holding off on sanctioning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline until this week.
Mike Pompeo spoke in the style of a stump speech giving a preview of his own likely 2024 campaign, warning of the enemy within as well as China.
A scandal erupted on Saturday as Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene chose to make a speech at a separate event held by white nationalists. There are calls to expel her from the Republican caucus.
