Politics & Government

Dallas CPAC Day 3: Trump Fertilizes 'Big Lie,' Wins Straw Poll

COLUMN: The entire CPAC weekend has been building to this: Donald Trump's return to bask in adulation as the GOP's Once And Future King.

Former President Donald Trump and his son were among the headliners this weekend at Dallas' CPAC "Wacko Woodstock" event.
Former President Donald Trump and his son were among the headliners this weekend at Dallas' CPAC "Wacko Woodstock" event. (Image Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

DALLAS, TX —Hours before his murder in Dallas, the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, warned his wife that "we're headed into nut country today."

Today, the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, returned to CPAC Dallas in glory.

And while Dallas may no longer be the "nut country" of 1963, the throngs gathered at CPAC do promote an alternate reality where Trump won the 2020 election, his impeachments were witch hunts and COVID was a lab-made experiment subsequently exploited by the left.

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Oh, and they dismiss any responsibility for storming the Capitol, when one out of every 10 arrests related to the Jan. 6 insurrection hails from the DFW area.

And the Big Lie? Well, as you've heard, everything in Texas is bigger.

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Yesterday, the CPAC audience was told that, due to people who refuse to be vaccinated, America is nowhere near herd immunity. They responded with cheers.

That falsehoods tumble so easily from the lips of people in power is part of what makes it so chilling. Easy as pie, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller used his CPAC moment to put more hot air in that balloon. "I’ll just say it. The election was stolen. I’m convinced of it.”

Meanwhile, Texas Republic Rep. Louie Gohmert's pile of pandering is quickly approaching Shingle Mountain proportions and toxicity. He's now pushing the theory that the Capitol riot of January 6 was actually instigated by Democrats. Not only that: During his CPAC speech Sunday morning, he called arresting rioters who breached the Capitol during the certification of electors in the presidential contest "tyranny."

Trump began his day on Fox, spreading fertilizer on The Big Lie before addressing his fanatics at CPAC. He referred to Jan. 6 — where democracy was threatened, his own Vice President was in danger of being lynched and a police officer was killed, as “a lovefest . . . They were peaceful people. These were great people."

Priming the pump for Trump were attendees circulating a "7-point plan" to have the ex-president return to power. A Twitter user tweeted this photo of the scheme:

By the time Trump began to speak, he'd already handily won the straw poll of who these ticketbuyers wanted to see as president in 2024.

What followed was the usual litany of complaints, slurs, half-truths and misdirection that have marked Trump's entire career in the public eye.

They included tirades against the border crisis, verbal indictments against those within and outside his administration who didn't demonstrate enough loyalty, and a vow that being impeached twice hadn't humbled him in any way, shape or form.

"I didn't become different," said Trump. "I became worse."


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