Trump returning to DC for first time since January 2021 to deliver policy speech

Trump returning to DC for first time since January 2021 to deliver policy speech

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Former President Trump is returning to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for the first time since leaving office 18 months ago to tout his administration’s policies.

Trump will deliver remarks at the America First Agenda Summit hosted by the conservative think tank America First Policy Institute. The former president will promote his policies as the nation awaits his anticipated announcement for a 2024 White House bid.

“I believe it will be a very policy-focused, forward-leaning speech, very much like a State of the Union 5.0,” AFPI President Brooke Rollins said.

AFPI is comprised of several former Trump administration aides and is one of several Trump-allied organizations that have continued promoting his policies since he left office.

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Former President Trump is making his first visit to Washington, D.C., since leaving office to deliver a policy speech.
( AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump’s visit for the keynote address on Tuesday marks his first time in the nation’s capital since he departed on Air Force One Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Biden was sworn into office.

Taylor Budowich, a spokesperson for the former president, said Trump’s speech would center on crime and public safety.

“President Trump sees a nation in decline that is driven, in part, by rising crime and communities becoming less safe under Democrat policies,” Budowich said. “His remarks will highlight the policy failures of Democrats, while laying out an America First vision for public safety that will surely be a defining issue during the midterms and beyond.”

Since leaving office, Trump has repeatedly spoken about his unsubstantiated claims the 2020 election was stolen from him, and has criticized Republicans who either did not attempt to overturn the election in his favor or who refuse to call Biden’s victory illegitimate. Some advisers have encouraged Trump to move on from 2020 as he looks toward an expected 2024 presidential run.

Trump’s AFPI speech comes as the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot continues its probe into the former president’s role leading up to and during the attack on the Capitol.

The panel is looking to show that Trump lied about the election, urged his supporters to storm the Capitol and then did not make efforts to discourage protestors from continuing demonstrations meant to delay the certification of Biden’s election win.

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A Trump spokesperson said his speech on Tuesday would center on crime and public safety.
(Brandon Bell/Pool via AP)

“Every American must consider this: Can a president who is willing to make the choices Donald Trump made during the violence of Jan. 6 ever be trusted with any position of authority in our great nation again?” Jan. 6 committee vice chair and GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, Wyo., said at the committee’s Thursday hearing.

The AFPI summit was created to highlight AFPI’s “America First Agenda,” which focuses on 10 key policy areas, including the economy, health care and election integrity.

Other panelists attending the summit include former Trump administration officials John Ratcliffe and Larry Kudlow, who is now a host on Fox Business. Some Republican allies of Trump serving in Congress will also be there, including Sens. Rick Scott, Fla., Lindsey Graham, S.C., and Ted Cruz, Texas.

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Other panelists attending the summit include former Trump administration officials John Ratcliffe and Larry Kudlow.
(Associated Press/Michael Wyke)

Meanwhile, Trump rivals are endorsing opponents of the former’s president’s preferred candidates in a number of key gubernatorial and congressional GOP primary races. One of those challenging Trump’s status in the Republican Party is former Vice President Mike Pence, who has been promoting his own “Freedom First” agenda and urging Americans to move on from the 2020 election.

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“Some people want this election to be about the past, but elections are always about the future. Democrats would love nothing more than for Republicans to take our eye off the ball and focus on days gone by,” Pence said Friday at an Arizona rally in support of gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson, who is running against Trump-backed Kari Lake.

Pence is one of many Republicans thought of as a potential presidential candidate for 2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.