The Mirror has been reporting from CPAC, the biggest gathering of the MAGA faithful, in Washington DC. Yesterday saw speeches from Liz Truss and Nigel Farage – but the oddest appearances came from Vice President JD Vance and a chainsaw wielding Elon Musk
Donald Trump continued to “joke” about running for an illegal third term yesterday.
Meanwhile his co-president Elon Musk ran around with a chainsaw, like leatherface if he wore sunglasses indoors. The Mirror has been reporting from CPAC, the biggest and least hinged gathering of the MAGA faithful, in Washington DC.
Yesterday saw speeches from Liz Truss (remember her?), Nigel Farage and right-wing blowhard Ben Shapiro from the main stage. But the big ticket appearances – not to mention the oddest – came from Vice President JD Vance, and the saw-weilding tech billionaire.
Here’s everything you need to know about Donald Trump, Elon Musk and JD Vance’s bizarre antics yesterday.
1. Elon Musk waved around a massive chainsaw
It doesn’t get much weirder than this.
Musk stepped onto the stage for his surprise Q&A, only to be followed moments later by Javier Milei, the President of Argentina, who have him a chainsaw. Musk proceeded to wave it around the stage, shouting “chainsaw! Woooo!”
Absolutely one of the weirdest things ive ever seen with my own eyes, and I’ve been to Lib Dem conference.
2. At times he appeared to struggle to complete a sentence
Presumably still reeling from the chainsaw thing, Musk spent a lot of the time mumbling and swallowing. He wore sunglasses throughout.
3. And he accused Zelensky of corruption
Probably the most newsworthy, and least mumbly, thing he said during his appearance was about the Ukraine war.
Without presenting any evidence, he claimed Volodymyr Zelensky was on the take, that there were “disgusting” levels of corruption and brivery, and that people were being sent “to the meatgrinder for money”.
4. JD Vance said Trump will only be friends with countries that align with his values
JD Vance opened proceedings CPAC – doubling down on his veiled threats to America’s European allies.
He said other countries would only keep America’s friendship if they “share” Donald Trump’s values.
“We’re going to have alliances with Europe, but I really do think the strength of those alliances is going to depend on whether we take our societies in the right direction,” he said.
“The point that I try to make to our European friends – and I think there are I believe as I know President Trump does – that friendship is based on shared values.”
He added: “So let’s have shared values. Let’s defend democracy. let’s have free expression, not just in the United States, but all over the Western world, that is the path to strong alliances.”
5. Oh, and Vance defended Trump’s cosy chats with Putin
Vance defended Donald Trump negotiating with Vladimir Putin – branding his boss “the President of Peace”.
He said Trump’s strength as a negotiator was that he “doesn’t take anything off the table.”
Trump has faced criticism for appearing to side with Russia over their illegal invasion of Ukraine – and blaming the war on Kyiv for fighting back against Putin’s forces. Mr Vance said Trump’s approach had made people’s “heads explode”.
“They say ‘Why are you talking to Russia?’ Well, how are you gonna end the war unless you’re talking to Russia?” He went on: “You’ve gotta talk to everybody involved in the fighting if you actually want to bring [the war to an end].
“President Trump’s policy, it’s really simple. He wants the killing to stop, he wants to bring lasting peace to Europe. He doesn’t just want stop it now and have it restart a month from now.
“He wants to bring last peace to Europe because the president believes …peace is in the interest of Russia, it’s in the interest of Ukraine, it’s in the interest of Europe, most importantly peace is in the interest of the American people.”
He added of his boss: “He’s going to be the president of peace. … We’re on the cusp of peace in Europe for the first time in three years because we have leadership in the Oval Office.”
6. Trump floated a third term, again
In a speech to mark Black History Month, the President once again flirted with the idea of running for a third term – something explicitly banned under the US constitution.
After discussing his success in courting the African American vote in the 2024 election, he said: “Now I won’t be happy the next time [if the number goes down]…Should I run again? You tell me.
As the invited White House crowd chanted “Four more years”, Trump joked: “There’s your controversy right there.”
7. As did his old pal Steve Bannon
Hours later, former Trump advisor and chief rabble rouser Steve Bannon openly called for ‘Trump 28.’
“The future of MAGA is Donald J Trump,” he said. “We want Trump in ’28. That’s what they can’t stand. A man like Donald Trump comes around only once or twice in a country’s history. We want Trump!”
8. Bannon also performed a very curious gesture…
As he wrapped up his speech, Bannon stretched his arm out straight with an open palm, in a gesture similar to Elon Musk’s “my heart goes out to you” salute, but less subtle.
It’s almost like Bannon is a professional wind-up merchant.