On Saturday evening, the highly anticipated conclusion to the Conservative Political Action Conference saw former President Donald Trump take the stage in National Harbor, Maryland. His 90-minute speech focused largely on his pledges for a second term, including cutting US foreign aid, ending the war in Ukraine, and aiming criticisms at the Biden administration. In addition to these topics, Trump made an expectation of "retribution" against those who betrayed him and his agenda, and made a direct appeal to the audience to never return to the Republican Party of the 2010s. Although the usual swagger and promises were present in Trump's speech, the attendees present were noticeably cooler on him than they have been in the past.

Trump also targeted potentially more immediate threats, such as the recent presidential aspirations of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Despite never thinly veiling his references to the governor, Trump's attacks mainly revolved around DeS