OXON HILL, Md. — President Donald Trump used an appearance Friday at a major gathering of conservatives to rip the news media, defend deportations and tout his “America first” philosophy.
Trump has gotten mixed receptions at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where true believers — whether self-described libertarian, constitutionalist, anti-abortion activist or fiscal hawk — have eyed him with suspicion. But he arrived Friday triumphant, via Marine One and surrounded by Secret Service to paint himself as a kindred spirit. Activists embraced him.
"Now you finally have a president. It took a long time. It's patriots like you that made it happen, believe me," he said as the crowd cheered.
Trump skipped the event a year ago in the heat of the GOP primaries and was skewered. Speaker after speaker warned that time was running short to keep the presidential nomination for a more reliable conservative.
Victory has blunted the concerns.
"It's great to be back at CPAC. ... I love this place. I love you people," Trump said Friday after flashing two thumbs up. "I wouldn't miss a chance to talk to my friends. These are my friends."
A helicopter whisked Trump from the White House just a few miles away. The packed-to-capacity ballroom at the Gaylord National resort erupted in cheers as he strode onstage in blue suit and red tie.
Trump launched into a critique of the news media, complaining of negative stories that cite anonymous sources, and demanding an end to the use of unnamed sources. Last week, Trump stirred an uproar when he declared the news media was an enemy of the public.
On Friday he insisted that he views only "fake news" as the enemy — though he seemed to be reserving the right to define which news outlets and reports deserve that label.
"We're fighting the fake news. ... They are, they are the enemy of the people," Trump said. "I'm not against the media, I'm not against the press. I don't mind bad stories if I deserve them. ... I'm against the people that make up stories and make up sources. They shouldn't be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody's name."
Roughly an hour earlier, senior White House officials — speaking on condition they not be identified by name — spoke with reporters at the White House to push back against news reports alleging that White House chief of staff Reince Priebus had pressured the FBI regarding its inquiry into Russian influence in Trump's inner circle.
Trump made no effort to explain the discrepancy in his administration's recurring use of "background" briefings and his irritation at the use of anonymous sources.
At one point he claimed that the line to get into his speech stretched six blocks; in fact, the event was only open to registered CPAC attendees, and reporters outside the hotel during the speech witnessed no line, let alone a six-block queue. But being a fabulist hasn't deterred his supporters and didn't seem to faze CPAC attendees.
"This place is packed. There are lines that go back six blocks, and I tell you that because you won't read about it," Trump said — though no such lines existed.
He joked at the outset that unless the crowd took their seats, "the dishonest media will say he didn't get a standing ovation."
Trump spoke for 48 minutes and earned cheer after cheer.
He touted his crackdown on immigrants in the country illegally, saying it will save "countless dollars" that can be used to rebuild inner cities, and countless lives."
"These are bad dudes," Trump said of the people being targeted for deportation. "We're getting bad people out of this country, whether it's drugs or murder. ... Those are the ones that go first.
"Basically all that I've done is keep my promise."
Trump promised a middle-class tax cut, and "the greatest military build-ups in American history," though he didn't explain how to pay for that. "Nobody will dare question our military might again. We believe in peace through strength, and that's what we will have."
In defending his push to reshape trade deals and return manufacturing jobs, he added, "It's time for all Americans to get off of welfare and get back to work."
After Trump mentioned Democrat Hillary Clinton and her comment calling his supporters "deplorables," many in the crowd chanted "Lock her up!" — a common refrain at Trump campaign rallies.
All of these lines and promises were crowd-pleasers as the president cemented his role as head of the GOP and, like it or not, the party's conservative wing.
On Thursday, Kellyanne Conway — Trump's campaign manager turned senior White House adviser — said the conservative movement had become "a little bit sclerotic and dusty" before Trump came with an infusion of fresh energy. She boasted at CPAC that his takeover is nearly complete.
"This will be TPAC when he's here, no doubt," she said.
Indeed that was the sense in the hall, even among activists late to jump aboard the Trump train last year.
"It's time to let bygones be bygones," said Audrey Hill, a saleswoman from Arkansas who was impatient with any compatriots still wary of Trump. "We run America now, there's no time for that stuff."
But the issue is on the minds of activists.
"There's still some conservative holdouts," said Tom Hebert, president of the College Republicans at American University. "It's on all of us to unite and defend him because he's under attack from everybody right now."
Nancy Berger, 69, a retired business woman from Lake in the Hills, Ill., near Chicago, backed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker for the 2016 nomination but warmed to Trump and now supports him wholeheartedly.
"Abso-[expletive]-lutely," she said.
"People need to support Trump. He's going to change America, like Obama said he would — but in a good way," she said. "The vitriol — my gosh. But he's tough enough to take it. And when he's not, maybe there's a bit of revenge in him. `I'll show you bastards.' That's a good thing."
Ronald Reagan in 1981 was the last president to appear at CPAC in the first year of his presidency.
Trump cemented the affection of many conservatives last month when he named Neil Gorsuch, a Colorado federal judge, to the U.S. Supreme Court. However else he might stumble, that nomination alone validates their trust in Trump.
"I said this man is first class," said Grace Germany, 80, an Austin activist. She wore an "Adios Mofo" button with one of the O's designed to look like the Barack Obama campaign logo. It's a phrase then-Gov. Rick Perry made famous in a different context.
Germany volunteered on Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign in Iowa and Nevada last year and for a long time thought Trump was a "blowhard." Then she attended one of his rallies in Las Vegas.
"My heart started going pitter-patter. The people — so many ponytails and tattoos. They're Chinese and black and Mexican. They didn't look like us, the clean-cut Republican Americans. They were the whole gamut of America," she said. "He's an honorable man."
Trump first spoke at CPAC in 2011. He reminisced about his first major political speech, saying it went so well, despite little preparation, it made him think more seriously about running for president.
"I loved it. I loved the people, I loved the commotion," he said.
Jim DeMint, a former South Carolina senator and now president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, spoke for many at CPAC when he said conservatives were thrilled at Trump's election but remain on guard.
"Last November, Americans dodged a bullet and conservatives won a great victory, but folks, let's remember that there are no permanent victories here in Washington. ... Now the real fight begins. That's why we're here," he said, warning that lobbyists and pollsters are already warning Republicans in Congress not to overreach.
"They're saying you can't build a wall and control our borders. ... They're saying you can't repeal Obamacare; tax reform is just too controversial; you can't ever balance the budget. And of course, you must keep open the corrupt, crony Export-Import Bank," DeMint said, referring to a federal entity that provides financing for U.S. exporters and their customers overseas.
Trump hit hard on his "America first" theme.
"I'm not representing the globe. I'm representing your country," he said, setting off chants of "USA! USA!" "There is one allegiance that unites us all, and that is to America."
Staff writer Jamie Lovegrove contributed to this report.
