The 2024 candidate aimed to spike anxiety among GOP voters as he promised to prevent World War III and nuclear Armageddon while rooting out America’s “greatest threat.”
That would be “deep-staters,” “U.S.A.-hating people,” President Joe Biden’s administration, NATO as it currently stands, and “Marxists who would have us become a godless nation worshipping at the altar of race and gender and environment.”
Trump talked up his opposition to U.S. aid for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. He appeared to relegate the invading nation to far less of a danger than his political opponents. He called for immediate peace but not did offer any plan to accomplish that to the satisfaction of both countries.
“Our foreign policy establishment keeps trying to pull the world into conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia based on the lie that Russia represents our greatest threat,” Trump said. “But the greatest threat to Western civilization today is not Russia. It’s probably, more than anything else, ourselves and some of the horrible U.S.A.-hating people that represent us.”
“These forces are doing more damage to America than Russia and China could ever have dreamed,” he added. “Evicting the sick and corrupt establishment is the monumental task for the next president. And I’m the only one who can do it.”
Trump is likely to face stiff opposition from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP’s race for the White House. He also has other challenges ahead ― including a possible indictment in the hush-money case involving adult film star Stormy Daniels and a continuing investigation into allegations that he tried to reverse 2020 election results in the swing state of Georgia.