Former President Donald Trump had some harsh words Saturday night for the people he blames for the world’s ills: “Fascists.” “Dumb” political leaders. “Truly evil people.” And people who are “afraid to do the right thing.”
He wasn’t talking about Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom the former U.S. president said again Saturday night at the Conservative Political Action Conference is indeed “smart.” While Trump spent a brief part of his 85-minute-long speech in Orlando denouncing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the Republican saved most of his vitriol for Democrats and Republicans he believed were not on his side.
“The socialist, globalists, Marxists and communists who are attacking our civilization have no idea of the sleeping giant they have awoken,” Trump said to a packed, cheering crowd, referring to President Joe Biden and ruling Democrats, asking Americans to “stand up to the left-wing fascists.”
Trump went after “RINO” (Republican in Name Only) GOPers he believed were not voting or behaving the way he thought Republicans should. He even took a shot at his own nominee to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, suggesting that the justice’s votes on high court decisions were driven by a fear of being impeached because of sexual misconduct charges brought up during the jurist’s nomination hearings.
“I believe he’s afraid to do the right thing,” Trump said. “I really do.”
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As much of the world and the American political community was coming together to support Ukraine against a Russian attack that many fear could serve as a template to undermine democracies around the globe, Trump had a perfect opportunity Saturday night to shift his tone. But instead of railing against foreign aggressors and autocrats, Trump listed grievances against him personally and urged the defeat of those who would get in his way.
While touting how well he got along with foreign autocrats, such as Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump…