Trump to make first public appearance since leaving office
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WASHINGTON • Former US president Donald Trump will speak at the Conservative Public Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb 28, his first public appearance since he left the White House last month.
A senior aide to Mr Trump confirmed he would attend the conference, and said that he planned to talk about the future of the Republican Party as well as President Joe Biden's immigration policies, which have been aimed at undoing Mr Trump's.
The conference is being held in Orlando, Florida, this year.
What Mr Trump plans to talk about and what he ultimately says once he is onstage often diverge, as he discards scripts that aides prepare for him.
But it will be the first time that he has spoken in a public setting since the deadly Jan 6 riot by his supporters at the Capitol building.
The former president, who was permanently banned from Twitter and who is facing investigations into his businesses as well as whether he has culpability for the assault on the Capitol, has generally kept a low profile.
The CPAC is traditionally an audition for Republican candidates for office as well as aspiring figures in the party. And Mr Trump has signalled to several allies and advisers in recent days that he is focused on running for president again in 2024.
Whether he actually does is an open question. But his presence could freeze the field for the next two years, preventing other candidates from developing operations and, more important, networks of donors to sustain their candidacies.
Mr Trump is currently locked in a battle with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell over the party's future and what kind of candidates it attracts.
Mr McConnell has made it clear that he wants to try to minimise Mr Trump's influence after the deadly riot.
Mr Trump's modern political life began with a speech at the CPAC in 2011.
NYTIMES
