(AFP) – Sporting a “Trump Was Right” T-shirt and a “Make America Great Again” cap, Carol Newton was brimming with impatience to see the US president before he addressed a conservative convention near Washington. A month after his return to the White House, Donald Trump has been a “whirlwind,” said the 63-year-old retiree. And after four years under President Joe Biden, she added, “That’s what we needed.”
Hailing from northwestern Washington state, Newton said she had seen the Republican billionaire “a half-dozen times.” And every time, she added, “You come away feeling good and, you know, enlightened and hopeful and enriched.” Newton had brought her young grandson to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a yearly assembly of top Republicans in suburban Maryland. She didn’t expect anything terribly new from Trump’s speech on Saturday, saying she’s happy to hear “the same message.”
– ‘Golden Era’ –
In the corridors of the sprawling National Harbor convention center, Trump’s image and name are omnipresent. Attendees can take selfies with a life-sized cardboard likeness, purchase sequined vests bearing the words “Trump: The Golden Era,” or wear T-shirts showing Trump defiant with a bloodied ear after last July’s assassination attempt. One woman sported a “Daddy’s Home” T-shirt bearing a picture of the Republican leader outside the White House, while another proudly displays red, white and blue fingernails with “TRUMP” spelled out on one hand and “VANCE,” the US vice president, on the other.
“People are happy that Trump is president, you know, and last year we were all hoping he would be,” said Clark Page, a 70-year-old retiree from Alabama, referring to the previous CPAC confab. This is Page’s sixth CPAC. He said he first saw Trump in 2015 at a rally in his home state. “The first time I saw him, I thought, ‘Oh, he’s going to be president.'”
– ‘Not as crowded’ –
Page, a former medical equipment salesman, said Trump’s first month back in office had been “fantastic.” “Reagan was fantastic, too,” he added, referring to the conservative president from the 1980s, “but I’ve never seen a president as effective as Donald Trump.” While the CPAC attendees interviewed expressed universal excitement about Trump, some said this year’s convention was a bit disappointing.
“It’s not as crowded as it has been,” said 39-year-old Rex Clark, who works for a military contractor. “I hope everybody’s not being complacent.” James Ong, a student at Catholic University in Washington, agreed. “There’s like, less enthusiasm here compared to past CPACs,” said Ong, who campaigned for Trump last year and is attending his third meeting of the group. The young people he saw at previous CPAC conventions, the 21-year-old Ong added, seem to have given way to “Baby Boomers” and older Americans.
– Robin LEGRAND
© 2024 AFP
