Feb. 22 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump declared success in "draining the swamp" while addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland on Saturday afternoon.
He also met with Polish President Andrez Duda and Argentinian President Javier Milei at the conference.
"Our movement is thriving, winning and dominating Washington like never before," Trump told the attendees.
"The fraudsters, liars, cheaters, globalists and deep-state bureaucrats are being sent packing. The Illegal alien criminals are being sent home," Trump continued. "We're draining the swamp, and we're restoring government by the people and for the people."
Related
He said the nation's capital had been controlled by a "sinister group of radical-left Marxists, warmongers and corrupt special interests who drained our wealth, attacked our liberties, obliterated our borders and sucked our country dry."
"Not any longer," Trump said. "We took away their power ... and took back our country."
He said the Trump administration's approval rating is very high and a majority of American voters support its actions.
Trump cited gains in support among Black and Hispanic Americans as voters in all 50 states shifted support to the Republican Party during the Nov. 5 general election.
"Our party has become the proud voice of hardworking citizens every race, religion, color and creed," Trump said. "We are the party of common sense."
Trump also lauded the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency and director Elon Musk as doing a good job of stopping wasteful expenditures, fraud and financial support of governments that oppose the United States.
He also spoke on efforts to end the war in Ukraine and blamed the Biden administration for spending some $350 billion in support of Ukraine with no expectation of a return when Europe issued support to Ukraine in the form of a loan.
"We don't get our money back," Trump said, adding that he expects Ukraine to agree to provide the United States with rare minerals in return for supporting Ukraine against Russia.
Trump also cited the war between Hamas and Israel and said the Biden administration erred in lifting sanctions on Iran, which provides arms and financial support to Hamas and other designated foreign terrorist organizations.
He referred to former President Joe Biden's family as a "crime family" and lauded changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, restoring the name of Mount McKinley from Mt. Dinali, and pending efforts to regain control of the Panama Canal before ending his 75-minute CPAC address.
During an afternoon straw poll, 61% of CPAC attendees voted Vice President JD Vance as their preferred choice to run for president in 2028, the New York Post reported.
Vance finished far ahead of others receiving votes in the informal straw poll.
Coming in second was former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon with 12% of votes, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 7% of votes.
Others earning support were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.N. ambassador-nominee Elize Stefanik with 3% of votes, each.
Trump's afternoon CPAC address was followed speeches by Stefanik, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Milei.
Other prominent speakers included Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Energy Secretary Doug Burgum, border czar Tom Homan, media personality Mark Levin and Stanford University professor Gordon Chang.
Trump and Milei met backstage during the event, which concluded after Trump's closing speech.
The White House published photos on X of the meeting, which was closed to members of the media.
"President Trump met with President Andrzej Duda of Poland and reaffirmed our close alliance" and the president also praised Duda's "commitment to increase their defense spending," according to the post.
The annual CPAC conference ran from Thursday through Saturday.
Notable speakers during its first day included Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, conservative media personality Ben Shapiro and former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Friday's featured guests included DOGE director Elon Musk, Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
Duda and Trump met an hour before the closing CPAC address, which Duda also attended.
The two world leaders were expected to discuss matters in Ukraine, which borders Poland.
Duda on Friday said he is encouraging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy to continue cooperating with Trump while trying to end the war started when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Duda said he believes Trump is "guided by a deep sense of responsibility for global stability and peace," NBC News reported.
