Trump speech is received with enthusiasm at conservative conference

President Donald Trump spoke at a conference of American conservatives Saturday, proud of his achievements during the first month of the presidency, a period accompanied by deep cuts in the federal government and controversy with the Allies.

In his speech before the Conference of Political Conservative Action (CPAC) on the outskirts of Washington, Trump promoted his achievements since coming to office on January 20th and criticised his political opponents, including former President Joe Biden, congratulating with crowd ovations.

An informal survey of those attending the conference showed continued support for Mr. Trump as he suggested his desire to run for a third term in 2028, which would require a change in the US Constitution.

The 22nd Constitution Amendment says that “no person can be elected to the office of president more than twice”.

In another event Thursday, Mr. Trump joked with the audience: “Should I run again? You tell me. ”

In his first month in office, President Trump has been involved in a series of controversy.

He shocked Washington by placing billionaire Elon Musk at the head of an effort to shrink federal bureaucracy with staff cuts in many federal agencies.

“Elon is doing an excellent job”, Mr. Trump said on Saturday. We love Elon, right?

Mr. Musk told federal employees on Saturday to send e-mails to the Federal Government Staff Management Office, where they would detail what they had accomplished last week or otherwise face layoffs.

In a post to social media earlier Saturday, President Trump said Mr. Musk could do more to reduce government abuse.

“Elon is doing a great job, but I'd like to see him become more aggressive. Remember, we have a place to save,” he said.

President Trump has set tariffs for many allies and has angered Europeans by insisting that they pay more for NATO's common defence and by putting pressure on Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskiy to reach an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. / VOA