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Republicans unveil gold Trump statue at CPAC, remain loyal despite Capitol Hill siege

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 3/1/2021 10:15:54 AM

Washington, Feb 28 US conservatives praised Donald Trump at an annual gathering on Friday, even unveiling a golden statue of the former president, showing he remains a Republican political force despite violent scenes in Washington last month. Prominent congressional conservatives - including Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley and Representatives Steve Scalise and Matt Gaetz - were among the Trump loyalists speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, which the former president will address on Sunday. “Let me tell you something: Donald Trump ain’t going anywhere,” said Cruz. Trump’s tumultuous final weeks in office saw his supporters launch a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to block Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory, a win that Trump falsely claimed was tainted by widespread fraud. If there was any doubt that CPAC this year was devoted to Trump, the gold-coloured statue of the former president, dressed in a jacket, red tie and Stars-and-Stripes boxing shorts, was on display at the conference site. Two participants wheeled the larger-thanlife statue through the conference centre lobby, according to a video on social media. It was unclear why the statue, showing a cartoonish version of Trump with an oversize head, was there. The statue drew instant derision online, with commentators comparing it to the golden calf that enraged the prophet Moses in the Old Testament. “Idol worship isn’t conservative. #RestoreOur- Gop,” Representative Adam Kinzinger, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 attack, said on Twitter. Gaetz declared himself part of the “pro-Trump, America First” wing of the conservative movement. “We’re not really a wing, we’re the whole body,” he said. He also appeared to forecast a future role for Trump, who is pondering another run for president in 2024: “Trump may not have drained the swamp all the way yet.” U.S. Senator Rick Scott, a Florida Republican who may run for the party’s presidential nomination in 2024, sought to thread the needle between pledging loyalty to Trump and signalling his aspirations for higher office.