“Absolutely, I wouldn’t even think about leaving,” Trump told reporters ahead of a speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.
cast himself Saturday as the only Republican candidate who can build on his White House legacy but shied away from directly critiquing his potential rivals, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Though DeSantis, seen as Trump’s biggest potential rival, is frequently a subject of name-calling and other attacks in Trump’s social media posts and in interviews, he wasn’t mentioned directly in Trump’s address before conservative activists, who earlier in the day applauded when an old video clip of the Florida governor was shown in a montage.
And the annual CPAC straw poll, an unscientific survey of attendees, found Trump the top choice to be the party’s nominee, with 62% support, trailed by DeSantis at 20% and businessman Perry Johnson, Nearly all — 95% of respondents — said they approved of Trump’s performance as president. “This is an audience that supports President Trump,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the No. 3 House Republican, who endorsed Trump days before he officially launched his 2024 campaign.
While Trump did not launch broadsides against his potential challengers for the White House, many of whom were pitching themselves to conservative donors near his Florida home this week, he did repeatedly criticize the Republican establishment, which is eager to move past him. “There is no one in that field I want as my president other than Donald J. Trump,” said Waverly Woods, a Republican activist and marketer from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who said she likes DeSantis but that Trump has first claim on the hearts of many at the conference.
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