John Wright

Former president Donald Trump on Saturday dismissed the impacts of climate change as "slightly more seafront property."

"Unbelievably, Biden is now claiming that you must sacrifice through higher energy prices to foot the cost of his failed foreign policy in Europe," Trump said during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando. "I saw (former Secretary of State) John Kerry on television — and we're talking about energy, we need energy, we need oil, we need gas, we need everything."

But according to Trump, Kerry was saying, "No, no, no, global warming." ...

Former president Donald Trump invoked the U.S. Space Force on Saturday in response to a question about what he would do in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

During a news conference before his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump was asked, "If you were president right now, and the situation is what it is right now ... what should Joe Biden do?"

"Well I think I know exactly what should be done," Trump responded. "There are things that he should do, I would rather not tell him under this forum. I don't think it's appropriate to say that. But there are things he could do that would be very strong, very powerful, and I think would end it pretty quickly." ...

Former president Donald Trump on Saturday again praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as "smart."

But during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Trump claimed the real problem is that NATO and other world leaders are "dumb."

"Yesterday reporters asked me if I thought President Putin was smart," Trump said. "I said, 'Of course he's smart,' to which I was greeted with, 'Oh, that's such a terrible thing to say.' Yes, he's smart. The NATO nations and indeed the world, as he looks over what's happening strategically with no repercussions or threats whatsoever, they're not so smart, they're looking the opposite of smart. 'If you take over Ukraine, we're going to sanction you,' the say. Sanction? Well that's a pretty weak statement."
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Former president Donald Trump on Saturday denied any knowledge of Fox News host Sean Hannity's frantic text messages to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and others that were recently released by the House Select committee investigating Jan. 6.

During a news conference prior to his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, a reporter said to Trump, "I have a question for you about one of your pals, one of your friends. Text messages were recently released from the Jan. 6 committee sent by Sean Hannity on Jan. 6. In it, it appears he's contradicting what you were trying to tell your staff that day, at least text messages to one senior staffer. Do you still consider Sean Hannity a friend and ally?"

"I don't know what messages you're talking about, but I think he's a great gentleman, a very talented person that gets fantastic ratings, and certainly he speaks well of me, he agrees with what I'm saying," Trump responded. "So I really don't know, I haven't seen —" ...

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz suggested that the House Judiciary Committee should put an end to the Department of Justice's ongoing investigation into whether he sex-trafficked a minor.

"The Judiciary Committee should stop the DOJ from targeting political opponents whether they are parents, whether they are falsely labeled as extremists, or whether they are lawmakers engaged in the oversight of the DOJ," Gaetz said.

Gaetz, a member of the Judiciary Committee, has previously indicated he would like to chair the panel if Republicans take control of the House in 2022. ...