GOP/POLITICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A freewheeling President Donald Trump offered a political greatest hits reel Friday [2-23-18] to the highest-profile right-wing gathering of the year, basking in conservative plaudits for what he characterized as a triumphant first year in office.
Quickly discarding prepared remarks he deemed ‘sort of boring,’ Trump lit into Democrats and even some Republicans who he deemed insufficiently doctrinaire, and again called for teachers to be armed in schools as a response to the Florida shooting last week… He welcomed familiar chants like ‘lock her up’ about Hillary Clinton, the opponent he defeated 15 months ago. And he pledged to protect gun ownership rights, even amid an emotional national debate over guns in which he’d pledged new restrictions… This time around, Trump was more upbeat. He declared his administration ‘has had the most successful first year in the history of the presidency,’ naming tax cuts and a regulatory overhaul as his chief accomplishments. He trumpeted downgrades in US participation in the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear accord. He even offered a rare glimpse of self-deprecation when he admitted to some personal vanity… But his language and targets were largely unchanged from the brash and impolitic campaign that propelled him into office.
He went on an extended riff about immigration, vowing to build his promised border wall, lamenting a system he claimed was woefully broken, and declaring Democrats were unwilling to accept an agreement that would reform the DACA program… Trump’s aides said ahead of his speech that he would use the address to unveil harsh new sanctions against North Korea, part of a pressure campaign Trump has frequently used to illustrate his foreign policy strength. But after more than 70 minutes, Trump still hadn’t come around to the announcement. He finally referenced the new sanctions just before leaving the stage.”
–Kevin Liptak, “Freewheeling Trump at CPAC touts armed teacher proposal,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Feb. 23, 2018 12:23pm