Thursday, February 10, 2011

Donald Trump wows crowd at CPAC

Blogging from CPAC in Washington.

The best speech I've seen so far at CPAC came from Donald Trump. "The United States," he said, "has become a whipping post for the rest of the world." Noting that he has many foreign business contacts, particularly from China, he added that "the United States is a laughing stock" to them.

Trump is a write-in candidate for the CPAC presidential straw poll. Referring to a real presidential run, the billionaire boasted, "If I run and if I win, this country will be respected again." Trump says he is pro-life and pro-gun, and he vows as president not to raise taxes.

Rand Paul followed him on the stage. Referring to his father, Trump said something unpopular. "Ron Paul cannot get elected, I'm sorry my folks." The crowd didn't boo, but there was a collective "Noooo...."

Alluding to his own lack of political experience, Trump said of Obama. "Our current president came out of nowhere. You talk to some of the people he went to school with, they don't know him." He added, "They never saw him."

Trump, for all his drawbacks, is a known quantity.

I'm impressed.

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