Donald Trump in Speeches at CPAC (2020s)
On Foreign Policy:
The problem is not Putin is smart but our leaders are dumb
Reporters asked me if i thought President Putin was smart. I said of course he is smart. The NATO nations and indeed the world--as he looks over what is happening strategically with no repercussions or threats whatsoever--they are not so smart.
They are looking the opposite of smart. The problem is not that Putin is smart, which of course he is smart, but the real problem is that our leaders are dumb.
Source: Speech at the 2022 CPAC Conference in Orlando FL
Feb 26, 2022
On Foreign Policy:
Democracy is under threat next door in Canada
If the radical Democrats truly want to fight for democracy, they should start with the democracy under threat next-door, a place called Canada. The tyranny in Canada in recent weeks should shock and dismay people all over the world. In an advanced
western democracy, the peaceful movement of patriotic truckers, workers and families protesting for their basic rights and liberties has been voted down. We stand with the truckers and the Canadian people in their noble quest to reclaim their freedom.
Source: Speech at the 2022 CPAC Conference in Orlando FL
Feb 26, 2022
On Government Reform:
Give president power to fire all executive branch employees
here are some of the other things we must do with republicans back in charge. we must pass critical reforms making every executive branch employee
fireable by the presidents. the deep state must and will be brought to heel.
Source: Speech at the 2022 CPAC Conference in Orlando FL
Feb 26, 2022
On Immigration:
We will build the wall; and complete it in three weeks
The wall will be quickly completed. We will build the wall, complete the wall in three weeks. It took two and a half years on the wall, two and a half years to win all of the litigation, over 11 lawsuits they threw at us, and we have just about
finished, and I said, they can't be serious. They don't want to close up the little loops, but nobody ever had a border so secure as the border that we have. We will be sealed good and tight, except for people coming into our country legally.
Source: Speech at the 2022 CPAC Conference in Orlando FL
Feb 26, 2022
On War & Peace:
Only modern president where Russia didn't invade a country
As everyone understands this horrific disaster would never happened if our election was not rigged and if I was the president. Very simply it would not of happened. Under Bush, Russia invaded Georgia. Under Obama,
Russia took Crimea. Under Biden, Russia invaded Ukraine. i stand as the only president of the 21st century on whose watch Russia did not invade another country.
Source: Speech at the 2022 CPAC Conference in Orlando FL
Feb 26, 2022
On Education:
We will completely defund and bar critical race theory
These people are sick. We will completely defund and bar critical race theory. 1776, not 1619, if you don't mind. And if government run schools are going to teach children to hate their country, we will demand school choice that we already have.
If you listen to the media or watch the evening newscast, our country has really gone bad. All we talk about is race. That's all they talk about. Race. The whole show: race, race. We don't talk about our country being great anymore.
Source: Speech transcript from 2021 CPAC Conference
Jul 11, 2021
On Health Care:
I aced a cognitive test; doctor never saw anybody ace it
The great Doc Ronny, my doctor, became a Congressman {U.S. Rep. Ron Jackson, TX-13]. He only beat 22 people. 22 people, he was great. I said, "Doc, how about if I take a cognitive test?" He said, "Well, you can do it, sir. But if you do, it'll be
public." Well, I said, "What's wrong with that?" He said, "Well, if you don't do well, sir, it's not going to be pretty." I said, "Is it hard?" He said, "After the first five questions, it gets very hard." I said, "Let's take a shot at it," and we did
it and we aced it, right? I aced it. And one of the doctors said he's never seen anybody that aced it. And some of those questions are not easy. I will tell you that." How do you think Joe would do on a cognitive test? You never know. Maybe underneath
there, there's somebody that's very unusual. Unfortunately, this was an election where the person that counts the votes was far more important than the candidate, no matter how many votes that candidate got, and we got record numbers of votes.
Source: Speech transcript from 2021 CPAC Conference
Jul 11, 2021
On Immigration:
Border is the single greatest disaster in American history
Now the Biden administration has turned the border into the single greatest disaster in American history, and perhaps in world history. Nobody's ever seen a border like this. Other countries don't have a border like this.
Illegal border crossings are up over 1,000% from last year. For the last three months in a row, more illegal alien minors have arrived than any other month in United States states history.
Source: Speech transcript from 2021 CPAC Conference
Jul 11, 2021
On Principles & Values:
We will make America great again; it's very simple
With the help of everyone here today, we will defeat the radical left, the socialists, Marxists, and the critical race theorists. Whoever thought would be even using that term. We will secure our borders. We will stop left wing cancel culture. We will
restore free speech and fair elections, and we will make America great again. It's very simple. Very simple.[Regarding Attorney General William Barr], I always liked him. But I said, "Bill, you got to move your ass. Our country is under attack."
But he became a different man when the Democrats viciously stated that they wanted to impeach him. They went wild. "We want to impeach him. We're going to impeach Bill Barr.
We're going to impeach him." He became different. I understand that. I didn't become different. I got impeached twice. I didn't change. I became worse.
Source: Speech transcript from 2021 CPAC Conference
Jul 11, 2021
On Tax Reform:
Republicans shouldn't raise taxes for infrastructure deal
Saying we'll agree to raise your taxes if you approve this radical left infrastructure deal, where most of the money, almost none of the money's going to real infrastructure, which is roads, bridges, et cetera. I'm telling the
Republican senators right now that we're not going to stand for it if you raise our taxes. We had the greatest tax decrease in the history of our country, and we're not going to have you raise it. In order to say you've made a bipartisan deal.
Source: Speech transcript from 2021 CPAC Conference
Jul 11, 2021
On Technology:
I filed a big class action lawsuit against big tech giants
To protect the Constitutional rights and liberties of every citizen, I filed a major class action. Lot of people are joining. Yep. A big class action lawsuit against the big tech giants. We are taking Mark Zookerbucks, Jack Dorsey, and the other
Silicon Valley billionaires to federal court, and we will keep on fighting until we have stopped this assault on our liberties and until we have restored the sacred right to freedom of speech for every single American.
Source: Speech transcript from 2021 CPAC Conference
Jul 11, 2021
On Civil Rights:
Transgender protections destroying women's sports
Joe Biden and the Democrats are even pushing policies that would destroy women's sports. Now young girls and women are in sets that they are now being forced to compete against those who are biological males. It's not good for women.
The records that stood for years, even decades are now being smashed. If this is not changed women's sports as we know it will die.
Source: Remarks by Pres. Trump at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2021
On Education:
Biden has sold out America's children to the teachers unions
There's no reason whatsoever why the vast majority of young Americans should not be back in school immediately. The only reason that most parents do not have that choice is because Joe Biden has sold out America's children to the teacher's unions.
His position is morally inexcusable. Joe Biden has shamefully betrayed America's youth. He is cruelly keeping our children locked in their homes. They want to get out. They're cheating the next generations out of the future that they deserve.
Source: Remarks by Pres. Trump at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2021
On Energy & Oil:
Could have made a deal on Paris Accord but didn't want to
Joe Biden put the United States back into the very unfair and very costly Paris Climate Accord without negotiating a better deal. They wanted us so badly back in. I'll tell you they wanted us. I could have made an unbelievable deal and gone back in, but
I didn't want to do that. Surrendering millions of jobs and trillions of dollars to all of these other countries, almost all of them that were in the deal. So they have favorable treatment, we don't have favorable treatment.
Source: Remarks by Pres. Trump at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2021
On Energy & Oil:
FactCheck: falsely blames windmills for Texas power outage
Trump said regarding the winter blackouts in Texas, "It's a disaster. The blackouts we saw in California last summer and all the time and the windmill calamity that we're witnessing in Texas. It's so sad when you look at it." Is it true that wind-
generated electricity was responsible for the Feb.-March blackouts that caused over 70 deaths from hypothermia and other causes, and left over 4 million Texas homes without power?FactCheck by Reuters: Wind generates 20% of total electricity in Texas,
where natural gas supplies 47%, coal supplies 20% and solar supplies 1%
FactCheck by OnTheIssues: The 2021 Texas power crisis was caused by sub-zero temperatures coupled with fossil fuel power plants that had never been winterized. It's true
that some wind turbines froze, but so did coal, gas, and oil generators, which account for 70% of power generation. The same problem occurred in 2011 (and is expected every ten years or so), but the state of Texas ignored the recommendations made then.
Source: Reuters/OnTheIssues FactCheck on 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2021
On Free Trade:
Trumpism means great trade deals
Many people have asked, "What is Trumpism?" A new term being used more and more. I'm hearing that term more and more. I didn't come up with it. But what it means is great deals, great trade deals. Great ones, not deals where we give away everything, our
jobs, our money, like the USMCA replacement of the horrible NAFTA. NAFTA was one of the worst deals ever made, probably the worst trade deal ever made, and we ended it. A lot of people forget, we ended it.
Source: Remarks by Pres. Trump at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2021
On Government Reform:
Only one election day, and limit absentee ballot access
I want to outline the steps that we must take to have an election system in this country that is honest, fair and accurate. We need one election day, not 45, 30, one day like it's been. And the only people that should be allowed to vote by mail are
people that can be proven to be either very sick, or out of the country, or military where they can't do it. There should be a legitimate reason for someone to vote absentee. We should eliminate the insanity of mass and very corrupt mail-in voting.
Source: Remarks by Pres. Trump at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2021
On Government Reform:
HR 1 election reform bill: this monster must be stopped
The Democrats are racing to pass HR 1. Their bill would drastically restrict political speech. Turn the Federal Election Commission into a partisan political weapon. It virtually eliminates voter ID requirements nationwide, effectively ends
all registration deadlines. Requires States to give ballots to felons, automatically registers every welfare recipient to vote, and puts unaccountable unelected bureaucrats in charge of drawing congressional districts. This monster must be stopped.
Source: Remarks by Pres. Trump at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Our very identity as Americans is at stake
We're in the middle of a historic struggle for America's future, America's culture, and America's institutions, borders, and most cherished principles. Our security, our prosperity, and our very identity as Americans is at stake, like perhaps at no
other time. So no matter how much the Washington establishment and the powerful, special interests may want to silence us, let there be no doubt. We will be victorious. And America will be stronger and greater than ever before.
We're not starting new parties. They kept saying, he's going to start a brand new party. We have the Republican party. It's going to unite and be stronger than ever before. I am not starting a new party.
That was fake news, fake news. No. Wouldn't that be brilliant? Let's start a new party and let's divide our vote so that you can never win. No, we're not interested in that.
Source: Remarks by Pres. Trump at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2021
On Principles & Values:
No other president had audience chant they love him
Audience: We love you. We love you. We love you.Donald Trump: Thank you very much, so nice. I asked somebody, because we really liked Ronald Reagan. He was a great President. I said, "Did anybody ever say that to Ronald Reagan or to any of our
great." and to the best of all of these political professionals' knowledge and pollsters', nobody's ever heard that chant before. So it's an honor. It's a great honor.
Source: Remarks by Pres. Trump at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2021
On Principles & Values:
FactCheck: Claims GOP is growing as 30,000+ left
Trump said at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference, shortly after the January 6 Capitol insurrection, "The Republican party defends the interests of working American families. That's why the party is growing so rapidly." FactCheck by The
Hill: More than 30,000 voters who had been registered members of the Republican Party have changed their voter registration in the weeks after pro-Trump supporters attacked the Capitol. The massive wave of defections is a virtually unprecedented exodus.
Source: Reuters/OnTheIssues FactCheck on 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2021
On Technology:
The time has come to break up big tech monopolies
The time has come to break up big tech monopolies and restore fair competition. Republicans, conservatives must open up our platforms and repeal section 230 liability protections. And if the federal government refuses to act, then every state in the
union where we have the votes, which is a lot of them, big tech giants, like Twitter, Google, and Facebook should be punished with major sanctions whenever they silence conservative voices.
Source: Remarks by Pres. Trump at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2021
On Corporations:
No more estate tax on small farms, small business
And, by the way, speaking of farmers, something they don't know but they're learning fast: No more estate tax on your small farm, small businesses, small other things. No more estate tax. People don't talk about it. It's a big thing--big provision.
Big provision. If you love your children, it's great. If you don't love your children, it's irrelevant. Don't leave the money to them. No more estate tax or, as we call it, "death tax."
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
On Education:
Defend free speech on college campuses
As the radical left moves aggressively to curtail freedom of speech, we are proudly defending free speech, including at our college campuses. Any college that refuses to respect your First Amendment rights now risk the loss of billions of federal
taxpayer dollars. I signed that a few months ago because these colleges, they take our money and then they don't let people speak. So now they won't take our money, and I guess they can do whatever they want.
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
On Energy & Oil:
We've ended the war on American energy; we're independent
We've ended the war on American energy. American energy was under siege. The U.S. is now the number-one producer of oil and natural gas in the entire world, by far.
Never again will our country be at the mercy of hostile foreign suppliers. America has declared energy independence. I declared it. We're energy independent. Big thing. It's a big deal. It's a big deal.
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
On Families & Children:
Expanded child tax credit was pushed by Ivanka Trump
And 40 million American families are enjoying an average of $2,200 more in their pocket thanks to a beautiful thing that Republicans really don't know about too much.
You know, the Democrats like to take credit. It's called "child tax credit." We took that. That was Ivanka Trump. She wanted that so badly.
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
On Foreign Policy:
Coronavirus: We can help Iran, all they have to do is ask
In addition to the existing ban on travel by most Iranian nationals, we're banning the travel of anyone who has been to Iran in the last 14 days. They're having a very big outbreak. And I say here and now, if we can help the Iranians--we're doing
certain things for them now--and if we can help the Iranians with this problem, we are certainly willing to do so. We would love to be able to help them. And all they have to do is ask. We will have great professionals over there.
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
On Free Trade:
No other president ever thought of imposing tariffs on China
I also took the strongest-ever action to confront China's illicit trade practices. You see what happened there. Our strategy worked. We have a great relationship with China now. They didn't even respect us. They were taking out $500 billion a year.
We had a trade imbalance. So we started charging tariffs. They hit our farmers. I gave the farmers everything that they took out, and the money came from China because it came out of the tariffs. No other President ever thought of it.
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
On Immigration:
Countless Americans are killed every year by criminal aliens
Illegal immigration costs American taxpayers hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars a year, funds that could be used to improve our schools, roads, hospitals, and other vital services. Instead, Democrats want to take even more of your
money to give illegal aliens free healthcare, free federal welfare, free education. They get treated better than they want to treat our military and our vets. And I stopped it. But it's crazy.
The Democrat Party's immigration policies empower bloodthirsty cartels that maim, murder, and torture; that smuggle and traffic innocent human beings; that flood our communities with poisonous drugs. The Left's immigration policies are not
compassionate; they are heartless, merciless, and cruel. Countless Americans are killed every year by criminal aliens. These are illegal aliens that come in, and they are, in many cases, very bad people.
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
On Immigration:
Coronavirus: Border security is also health security
Border security is also health security. In our efforts to keep America safe, my administration has taken the most aggressive action in modern history to control our borders and protect Americans from the coronavirus. Came from China. In the early
stages of the foreign outbreak, I ordered sweeping travel restrictions to prevent uncontrolled spread of this disease. Not only did we do it, but I did it very early. And that decision has been now given very good grades, like an A-plus- plus-plus.
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
On Principles & Values:
America is the greatest nation to ever exist
We have revitalized the values, traditions, and principles that have always defined American greatness. Citizens of every age, race, color and creed are joining us in the fight to save this glorious nation. Every day, our movement grows bigger, bolder
and broader, and America's future gets brighter. Our movement is united by a towering spirit of patriotism, and a deep reverence for the rights and liberties given to each of us by the hand of Almighty God. We know that America is the greatest nation to
ever exist. We know that America is the strongest force for good in the history of the world.But American forces cannot be the policemen for the entire world. We're all over the world. And a lot of times, we're not even appreciated.
We can't be the policemen for the world and the democracy builders. We just can't do that for every nation that seems to have difficulty, especially for those nations that don't appreciate what we do--and there are many of them.
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
On Principles & Values:
Desperate far-left radicals demand absolute conformity
Far-left radicals have become increasingly desperate and dangerous in their quest to transform America into a country you would not recognize, a country in which they control every aspect of American life. Just as socialist and communist movements have
done all over the world, they're cracking down on all dissent and demanding absolute conformity. They want to massively raise your taxes, bury you in regulations, take over healthcare, indoctrinate our children from kindergarten to college.
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
On War & Peace:
Withdrew from Syria, but left soldiers to keep the oil
You remember recently when I took the soldiers out of Syria, and everyone said, "Well we have to protect the border between Turkey and Syria." I said, "Why? Why? What does it have to do with us? They've been fighting for 1,000 years.
What does it have to do with us? Why are we protecting the border?" "You can't do that." I did it. We created a safe zone. And I did leave a number of soldiers because we kept the oil. There's oil there, and we kept the oil, if it's okay.
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
On Welfare & Poverty:
9,000 Opportunities Zones are transforming neighborhoods
To lift up forgotten and impoverished communities, we created nearly 9,000 Opportunities Zones all across our country-- Senator Tim Scott was so great--creating jobs, opportunity, and investment. It's now pouring into the places that needed it the
most. We have poor areas that haven't had 10 cents invested in them in years and years and years. And now millions of dollars are going in there. We're transforming neighborhoods. It's incredible.
Source: Remarks by President Trump at the 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 29, 2020
Page last updated: Mar 16, 2022