The party had been remade in Trump's image, built on opposition.
Dois meses após deixar a Casa Branca, Donald Trump retornou ao palco político na Conferência de Ação Política Conservadora, sinalizando que sua jornada estava longe do fim e que pretendia disputar a presidência novamente em 2024. Diante de uma base que permanece fiel — com índices de aprovação superiores a 90% entre republicanos — ele reafirmou o controle sobre o partido, rejeitou rumores de uma terceira via e manteve vivas as contestações sobre o resultado eleitoral de 2020. O momento revelou uma tensão mais profunda na democracia americana: a diferença entre a lealdade de uma base consolidada e a capacidade de um movimento de alcançar o eleitorado mais amplo.
- Banido das redes sociais e afastado do poder por apenas dois meses, Trump usou a CPAC para demonstrar que ainda dita os rumos do Partido Republicano.
- A presença de uma estátua dourada do ex-presidente no evento — fabricada no México — condensou em uma imagem a mistura de devoção e contradição que marca o movimento.
- Senadores como Josh Hawley e Ted Cruz reforçaram a mensagem de continuidade, enquanto pesquisas mostravam que 76% dos republicanos ainda acreditavam em fraude eleitoral generalizada.
- Uma votação interna na conferência revelou uma fissura discreta: apenas 68% dos participantes apoiavam uma nova candidatura de Trump, sugerindo que a unanimidade tem limites.
- O partido enfrenta um teste real nas eleições de meio de mandato de 2022, quando candidatos apoiados por Trump disputarão espaço com republicanos tradicionais — e a questão é se a raiva mobiliza ou isola.
Donald Trump subiu ao palco da Conferência de Ação Política Conservadora no final de fevereiro, sua primeira grande aparição pública desde que deixou a Casa Branca, e deixou claro que não pretendia se afastar da política republicana. Em um discurso de cerca de uma hora, declarou que o movimento iniciado quatro anos antes estava "longe de terminar" e se posicionou como o provável candidato do partido em 2024. Banido das redes sociais após ser acusado de incitar a invasão do Capitólio em 6 de janeiro, Trump havia se recolhido ao resort Mar-a-Lago, na Flórida. A CPAC, transferida para o estado por causa da pandemia, tornou-se o palco de sua reafirmação.
Ao longo do discurso, atacou o presidente Joe Biden, o establishment de Washington e os membros do próprio partido que o haviam criticado. Rejeitou os rumores sobre a criação de um terceiro partido, chamando-os de "fake news", e voltou a insistir que havia vencido as eleições de 2020 — alegação refutada por dezenas de recontagens e auditorias. Criticou a Suprema Corte por falta de "coragem" e nomeou, um a um, os republicanos que votaram por seu impeachment.
A conferência revelou tanto a força quanto os limites de seu domínio. Uma estátua dourada do ex-presidente circulou nas redes sociais com comparações ao bezerro de ouro bíblico — e havia sido fabricada no México. Pesquisas mostraram que 95% dos participantes queriam que o partido avançasse a agenda de Trump, mas uma votação secreta indicou que apenas 68% apoiavam uma nova candidatura. Senadores como Ted Cruz e Josh Hawley reforçaram a narrativa de continuidade, enquanto um ex-assessor de Mitt Romney alertava que um partido construído sobre ressentimentos enfrenta dificuldades para dialogar com o eleitorado mais amplo. A verdadeira prova viria nas primárias de 2022.
Donald Trump took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in late February, his first major public appearance since leaving the White House two months earlier, and made clear he had no intention of fading from Republican politics. Speaking for roughly an hour before hundreds of supporters, he declared that the movement he had started four years prior was "far from over" and positioned himself as the party's likely standard-bearer in 2024. The message was unmistakable: he would remain the dominant force within the Republican Party, and he would run again.
Banned from social media platforms after being accused of inciting violence during the January 6th Capitol riot, Trump had been living at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida since leaving office on January 20th. The CPAC gathering, relocated from its traditional Maryland home to Florida due to pandemic restrictions, became a stage for him to reassert control. Throughout his remarks, he attacked President Joe Biden, Washington's political establishment, and members of his own party who had criticized him. He rejected speculation that he might launch a third party, calling such talk "fake news" and pointing to his approval ratings within the Republican base, which had climbed above 90 percent. Those rumors had circulated weeks earlier, when party figures were openly questioning his influence following the Capitol invasion.
Trump's critique of Biden centered on a stark framing: the country had shifted from "America First" to "America Last," he argued, with the new administration surrendering the nation to immigrants, labor unions, and left-wing groups. He praised his own record on immigration and claimed Biden's opening weeks represented the most disastrous presidential start in American history. He also returned to his familiar refrain about the 2020 election, insisting he had won despite official results showing Biden with a decisive margin in both the popular vote and the Electoral College. He accused Democrats of stealing the presidency and criticized the Supreme Court for lacking "courage" to overturn the results. He then named, one by one, the Republicans who had voted against him during impeachment proceedings.
The conference itself became a tableau of Trump's grip on the party. A golden statue of the former president, erected by someone connected to the event's organization, drew immediate social media attention and comparisons to the biblical golden calf—a symbol of false worship. The irony was sharp: the statue had been manufactured in Mexico. The event's theme centered on "cancel culture," with organizers declaring that within those walls, America was "uncanceled." Over four days, speaker after speaker echoed Trump's claims that he had been the victim of a vast conspiracy to prevent his reelection, that fraud had occurred in states where he believed he should have won. None of these allegations had been proven, and dozens of recounts and audits had confirmed the official results, yet the narrative energized his most committed supporters—the same base whose anger had fueled the Capitol riot.
Senators aligned with Trump reinforced the message. Josh Hawley, who had orchestrated efforts in Congress to overturn Biden's Electoral College victory, declared he would not abandon the movement. Ted Cruz went further, stating flatly that "Donald Trump is not going anywhere." Polling suggested he was right. A Quinnipiac University survey from early February found that 76 percent of Republicans believed widespread fraud had occurred in November's election. Even regarding the Capitol attack, fewer than half of Republican voters assigned Trump any responsibility. An internal CPAC poll showed that 95 percent of attendees agreed the party should advance Trump's agenda.
Yet there were hints of constraint. A secret ballot taken at the conference to gauge participant sentiment—a yearly tradition—revealed that only 68 percent supported another Trump candidacy. The broader question hanging over the party was whether his dominance would hold through the 2022 midterm elections, when Trump-backed candidates would face off against traditional Republicans in primary contests. A former aide to Senator Mitt Romney, speaking to Politico, observed that the party had been remade in Trump's image, built on his message and his tactics, and had become comfortable defining itself by opposition. The limitation of such a strategy, he noted, was that it addressed grievances rather than the wider concerns of much of the electorate. Whether that narrow focus could sustain the movement's power remained an open question.
Citas Notables
The incredible journey we started together four years ago is far from over.— Donald Trump, at CPAC
The party has been remade in Trump's image, built on his message and tactics, and is comfortable defining itself by opposition.— Former aide to Senator Mitt Romney, speaking to Politico
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did Trump feel compelled to appear at CPAC at that particular moment, just weeks after the Capitol riot and his impeachment?
He needed to reassert control. The party was fracturing—some Republicans were distancing themselves, others were questioning whether he'd start a third party. CPAC gave him a stage to say: I'm still here, I'm still dominant, and you're with me or you're against me.
The golden statue seems almost too on-the-nose. Did organizers understand what they were doing?
That's the strange part. It became instantly iconic—and not in the way they intended. The comparison to false idolatry was immediate. But it also revealed something true about the moment: the veneration was real, even if the symbol backfired.
The polling numbers are striking—95 percent of CPAC attendees backing his agenda. But only 68 percent supported him running again. What explains that gap?
Those are two different questions. Supporting his ideas and supporting him as a candidate are not the same thing. Some people might believe in his policies but worry about electability, legal exposure, or simply fatigue. The 68 percent is the real number that matters for 2024.
The article mentions that fraud claims had been disproven repeatedly, yet 76 percent of Republicans believed them. How does that disconnect persist?
Because the narrative served a purpose. It explained away the loss without requiring accountability. And once that story took hold in the base, evidence to the contrary didn't dislodge it—it just confirmed the conspiracy was deeper.
What was the real test ahead for Trump and the party?
The 2022 midterms. That's when Trump-backed candidates would face traditional Republicans in primaries. If Trump's people won decisively, his control was cemented. If they lost, the spell might break. The party couldn't stay defined by opposition forever—eventually it had to offer something.