Former President Donald Trump remains a major force in American politics and leads in a number of 2024 Republican primary polls. Trump recently stated that the Republican Party prior to his rapid ascent is not coming back.
Trump spoke at the Lee County, Florida Lincoln-Reagan Dinner in Fort Myers last week. The former president stated that he represented the new wave of GOP leadership.
Trump received a strong response from the Florida crowd in the state of his potential rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
Trump said that his 2016 campaign “save[d] America” and the Republican Party.
“We did,” he said.
The former president said that he would direct the Department of Justice “to investigate every radical” district attorney and attorney general for “their illegal racist-in-reverse enforcement of the law.”
He added that “local Marxist prosecutors” release “rapists and murderers while persecuting conservatives.”
Trump added that he would “appoint rock solid, constitutional conservative judges in the mold of Judge Antonin Scalia and the great Justice Clarence Thomas.”
He said that Thomas is “under siege right now for doing nothing.”
The former president spoke alongside Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) at the event. Other dignitaries speaking via video include former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Trump adviser Roger Stone.
Donalds said that “it was an honor to be a part of this moment.”
He added that southwest Florida “is Trump Country, and together we will give President Trump four more years in the White House.”
America’s President paid the people of my district a visit in Downtown Fort Myers, and it was an honor to be a part of this moment alongside my youngest son Mason.
SWFL is Trump Country, and together we will give President Trump four more years in the White House. 🇺🇸🍕🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/JlD2gd5siE
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) April 22, 2023
The third candidacy of Donald Trump may be a strong signal that the Republican Party of former establishment politicians will not return.
Trump’s 2024 candidacy represents a further shift away from previous candidates, including former President George W. Bush. Few of the former establishment officials are still in politics, except for Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
Romney, the party’s 2012 nominee, has emerged as a major opponent of the former president.
Trump leads DeSantis in a number of Republican primary polls. His lead has increased since being indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D).
