Donald Trump To Give Keynote Speech At America First Summit Today

Former President Donald Trump will deliver the keynote speech at the America First Agenda Summit in Washington DC today - his first trip back to the capital since leaving the Oval Office.

• Trump is scheduled to speak at 14:15 ET 19:15 BST and will be broadcast on C-SPAN 3 here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?521940-1/pres-trump-speaks-america-policy-institute-summit
• Day 2 of the summit is live now can be followed on the Hill: https://thehill.com/video/3574265-watch-live-ameri...
• The event, designed to celebrate the policies of the Trump administration, is the most high profile public appearance for Trump since leaving the White House and, although Trump is not expected to announce his 2024 candidacy, the platform has national reach and a surprise announcement cannot be ruled out.
• Punchbowl News: “Trump is still the most important Republican in the country, and a potential 2024 White House candidate. He’s played kingmaker in a number of House and Senate races this cycle, and he’s on a largely successful revenge tour against those Republicans who voted for his impeachment after the Capitol attack.”
• Although he remains popular, the January 6 committee summer hearings, which concluded last week, have markedly eroded confidence amongst Republican voters.
• Trump will be hoping to use the summit today to re-energise his support base and head off the evolving threat from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who is rapidly improving name recognition, and has recently overtaken Trump in polling in a number of states.
• One of the key dynamics on display today is the cameral divergence in Republican support for the former President. GOP leadership from the House of Representatives will be in attendance, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy but “most of the Senate Republican leadership really wants nothing to do with him,” says Punchbowl News.
• Punchbowl continues: “Now, this isn’t at all surprising. The divide between Senate and House Republicans when it comes to Trump is stark. McConnell wants nothing to do with Trump, going out of his way never to utter the word “Trump” if possible. Trump, though, has attacked McConnell relentlessly. Trump even urged other GOP senators to challenge McConnell for leader. That went exactly nowhere, although McConnell now faces a Senate map where Trump-backed candidates may cost the party dearly in November.”