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President Donald Trump speaks at 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference

President Trump speaking at CPAC 2017 (click for 360-degree context). Source: Honest Tog/ENS.

President Donald Trump took to the stage on the third day of the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, MD. CPAC, hosted by the American Conservative Union, is an annual gathering of conservative elected officials, activists, and others. He had previously spoken at CPAC in 2011, 2013, and 2015, and it was mentioned that he was the first sitting president to speak at CPAC during his first year in office since Ronald Reagan. On this occasion, President Trump was introduced by Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, and his wife Mercedes.

After getting a standing ovation for his entry, as he encouraged people to sit down he took a jab at what he referred to as the "dishonest media" joking that they would say he didn't get a standing ovation if they never sat down. This may have been a reference to an event at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley where there was some dispute over whether or not President Trump truly received a standing ovation there. At this point, the crowd then took to their feet once more to give him another one.

President Trump went on to discuss some of his history of appearances at CPAC leading up to his election as president. He then spoke more about the media before transitioning into other topics. He spoke of the border wall, health care, and the national debt. While talking about the economy overall he mentioned things such as tax cuts for the middle class, simplifying the tax code, getting more people off welfare and into jobs, before transitioning into a discussion of the military.

On the topic of the military, President Trump spoke of upgrades for the military both in terms of offensive and defensive roles. He also spoke of working with the allies of the United States to "obliterate" ISIS. He expressed the sentiment that national security would start with the securing of the nation's borders, and said that he would "never, ever apologize for protecting the safety and security of the American people."

As he closed his address, he brought up the diversity of the citizens of the country, and that he sees himself as representing the United States and its citizens, not that he should be "representing the globe." He closed by thanking the many "communities of faith" for supporting him in the election, Matt and Mercedes Schlapp of CPAC, and the members of the audience.

by Trustworthy J. Reporter