'Thank you, God': Trump revels in reign as absolute king of CPAC
At the grassroots conservative gathering after fronting a coronavirus briefing, the president was back in his happy place
Stop Donald Trump now, Democrats warned at his impeachment trial, or will he take on the aspect of a king.
The prophecy appears to have been borne out, as the US president hands out jobs to loyalists, purges perceived enemies, pardons convicted criminals and swaggers as if with a divine right.
On Saturday, addressing the biggest annual gathering of US grassroots conservatives, Trump wondered aloud at it being “sort of a miracle” he has got so much done despite all he’s been through.
“Maybe it’s right there, right?” he asked, pointing to the heavens. “Thank you, God.”
The crowd loved it. Trump stayed away from a sceptical Conservative Political Action Conference in 2016 but now he is its sun king. Supporters in a palatial ballroom at the National Harbour leaped to their feet, whooping and cheering, many wearing “Make America great again” and “Keep America great” caps.
They roared their approval when, like a medieval monarch who has survived a bloody insurrection, Trump vowed revenge.
“They’re coming after me and we fight them back,” he said. “And now we’re going after them because we have no choice. We have to straighten out our country. But despite the best efforts of the leftwing fanatics, their scams, schemes, slanders, they’ve all been discredited, totally discredited.”
He singled out James Comey, whom he fired as director of the FBI, and special counsel Robert Mueller, who led the Russia investigation, as enemies whose heads deserved to end up on metaphorical spikes.
“How is Comey doing?” he asked, sardonically. “How is Bob Mueller doing? That was a great performance in Congress. ‘Raise your right hand.’ ‘What?’”
There was also mention of the Utah senator Mitt Romney, who voted to convict Trump at the impeachment trial and, like a rebellious duke, was banished from CPAC this year. Trump described Romney as “lowlife” and the crowd booed lustily.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/29/donald-trump-cpac-romney-comey-flag#img-1
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