P. Coonan
2025-02-22 02:34:30 UTC
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Permalinkstage for Elon Musk as the Conservative Political Action Conference
delivered its first full day of speakers for its annual conference.
Musk, who is leading President Donald Trumps Department of Government
Efficiency cost-cutting task force, called the prop a chain saw for
bureaucracy.
CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp opened the conference Thursday by asking the
crowd at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill,
Maryland, Are you glad that America is back on track?
And Vice President JD Vance kicked off a busy schedule of speakers,
telling the moderator, It's hard to believe we've only been in office for
a month, because I think we've done more in a month than (former President
Joe) Biden did in about four years.
Vance said the Trump administration is focused on securing the border,
pruning government waste, and unlocking the economy and the engine of
American growth.
I think the president is acutely aware that the American people gave us a
window to save the country, and that's exactly what we're going to do,
Vance said.
The CPAC conference runs through Saturday, with Trump set to speak on the
final day.
CPAC
@CPAC
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CONFIRMED SPEAKER: 45 & 47 President of the United States Donald J. Trump
????
Join us on February 22, 2025 for when the President joins us at CPAC
Lawmakers, administration officials, business people, and other
conservative figures took the stage Thursday.
Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, joined Trump counselor Alina Habba to talk about the
weaponization of the federal government against its citizens.
West Virginia Rep. Riley Moore, Glenn Story from Patriot Mobile, and
entrepreneur Nate Morris talked about woke boardrooms.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright talked about breaking down barriers to
domestic energy production.
Look at the last four years. What have we seen? Wright said. Every
possible new barrier implemented to make it harder to produce oil and gas.
That doesnt change the demand for oil and gas. You just make it harder to
produce. What do you get? You get less supply and higher prices. Weve
seen 30% rise in electricity prices just in the previous administration.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, Indiana Sen. Jim
Banks and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz all appeared.
Trumps new Attorney General Pam Bondi, who appeared with Cruz, said the
designation of transnational cartels as terrorist groups will help the
U.S. go after them ... anywhere in the world and treat them as
terrorists. They are terrorists. If youre bringing fentanyl into this
country and killing our kids, youre a terrorist. And were coming after
you.
The conference had an international flare, with former British Prime
Minister Liz Truss, CPAC Brazil organizer Eduardo Bolsonaro, Israeli
hostage families, Spanish political leader Santiago Abascal, Hungarian
Prime Minister adviser Balazs Orban, and U.K. Reform Party leader Nigel
Farage making appearances.
Truss said there was a dark cloud under Biden, but now the patriotic
Brits are looking across the ocean in envy at what Trump is doing for
America.
Liz Truss
@trussliz
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"We want to dismantle the British Deep State, which is older and more
entrenched than the American one."
Watch my full speech to @CPAC
She said our two countries share problems, including mass migration and
barriers to energy production.
All of the people here are working to make America great again, Truss
said. I believe that we can make Britain great again.
Musk talked about his pivot from being politically neutral if not leaning
Democratic to becoming a close ally of Trump.
CPAC
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WATCH: President @JMilei of Argentina presents @ElonMusk with the
'Chainsaw for Bureaucracy' at @CPAC???
Musk accused the left of infringing on freedoms and decried cancel
culture.
We just need to restore the fundamental elements of what made America
great, which is freedom and opportunity, Musk said.
He said DOGE was going after government waste and tax dollars that are
funding things that are fundamentally anti-American.
Musk also said the idea of "DOGE dividends," checks to reimburse Americans
via savings created by his task force, is gaining traction.
But House Speaker Mike Johnson poured cold water on that idea during his
CPAC appearance.
Johnson said the federal government is $36 trillion in debt, and
Republicans should be fiscally responsible.
I think we need to pay down the credit card, Johnson said.
But the House speaker echoed many of the same sentiments as Vance, Musk
and the other speakers about the Republican agenda this year.
We're going to take a blowtorch to the regulatory state, Johnson said.
https://nbc24.com/news/nation-world/musk-vp-vance-speaker-johnson-and-
former-british-prime-minister-take-stage-at-cpac-conservative-political-
action-conference-cpac-2025-day-1-recap#
