Donald Trump focuses on young voters at Turning Point Action conference

WEST PALM BEACH — Former President Donald Trump told young conservative voters Saturday night, July 15, that the 2024 presidential election would determine "whether your generation inherits a fascist country or a free country," and pledged to enact a list of right-wing policy preferences if re-elected.

"Sixteen months from now, each of you will vote in one of the most important elections of your lifetimes," Trump said. "I know the young conservative warriors — and you are warriors — of Turning Point can't let this happen, and you won't let this happen."

In his speech to about 6,000 people at the Turning Point Action conference at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, the twice-impeached former president painted the country in a grim, dark light, saying it is experiencing "sick, sinister and evil forces."

Trump also took jabs at his top rival in the Republican presidential primary race, Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was invited to the West Palm Beach conference, but instead chose to go to Iowa for a Family Leadership Summit that was to be attended by thousands of GOP voters. Trump credited himself with DeSantis' initial gubernatorial win in 2018, and his mentions of "Ron DeSanctus" drew boos from the crowd of mostly MAGA faithful.

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"This is the crowd that he [DeSantis] needs to win over if he's going to compete for the GOP primary," said Andrew Kolvert, a Turning Point Action spokesman. "It's a disappointment. We think it was a mistake on his campaign's part."

The former president chose the youth conservative group's conference in West Palm Beach versus attending the cattle call of GOP presidential hopefuls in Iowa, a prominent early-primary state that is crucial for presidential candidates.

Trump is leading national polling for the Republican presidential nomination race, with DeSantis trailing behind him by double digits in most polls. A poll released by Florida Atlantic University earlier this week among Florida Republican voters showed Trump ahead of DeSantis by about 20 percentage points.

Trump defends holding classified documents

The former president also maintained that he was in the right to hold classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Palm Beach.

"Whatever documents the president decides to take with him, he has the absolute and unquestioned right to do so," said Trump, who was indicted last month by Special Counsel Jack Smith on 37 counts of mishandling classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

That indictment came three months after he was charged in New York with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Trump pointed to President Joe Biden's own case of holding classified documents, and accused the administration of weaponizing the Justice Department against him for political gain, especially since he's the leading Republican primary opponent.

The event programmed a significant slate of GOP speakers, including former Republican National Committee chair candidate Harmeet Dhillon; U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds, Anna Paulina Luna, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz; U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz; conservative commentator Tucker Carlson; and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

Trump told the crowd that during his administration, the country did not get into war, and it would remain that way if he were re-elected. On top of this, he emphasized toughening immigration measures and criticized the current administration's "open border," which drew lots of applause from the crowd.

Gaetz: We 'ride or die' with Trump

Luna, a congresswoman from St. Petersburg, echoed Trump's rhetoric on foreign relations, saying he was the "only president in my lifetime who was not drawn into unnecessary conflicts overseas."

"People will show you exactly who they are under pressure, and when you've had candidates not able to face Tucker Carlson, do you think that they have any business sitting in the Oval Office?" Luna said, apparently referencing Carlson's interview former Vice President Mike Pence in Iowa on Friday. "That is exactly why we need President Trump for 2024."

Some of Trump's other policy points that resonated with younger voters and drew cheers included removing "diversity, equity and inclusion" from educational institutions' programs, restoring energy independence so "young people can once again afford to buy a house," and require universities to offer job and career placement services in order to receive federal dollars.

Donalds, a congressman from Naples, predicted Trump would be re-elected.

"We can win in 2024, we are going to win in 2024," Donalds said. "The 45th president is about to become the 47th president."

Gaetz's message to the crowd was to "save America" and warned that it could be lost to the Biden Administration. He said that the administration was full of "swamp monsters" and that he has "directed a little sunshine in the dark spaces" in Washington, D.C., while he has been in office.

"We ride or die with President Donald John Trump," Gaetz said, referring to all Republican congressional candidates.

The crowd responded most positively to pro-Trump messaging from speakers, and signage in exhibition rooms with each presidential candidate's face had sticky notes of support for Trump's reelection bid and negative comments for DeSantis, including calling him a "traitor" and saying he "abandoned" Florida.

One of the most energetic portions of the evening came before Trump's speech, when Carlson, who was dismissed from his marquee job at Fox News earlier this year. spoke about various topics including the war in Ukraine, Russia and vaccines.

Turning Point Action founder Charlie Kirk started the event by outlining a strategy for a Republican to win the White House in 2024, by securing votes from states like Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin. He said that he believed confidently that Trump would win Iowa, Florida and Ohio.

"There are more of us than them [Democrats]. All we have to do is get that translated into more pieces of paper counted than them, and we will win back the White House," Kirk said.

Infighting over Iowa

Iowa is a critical state for presidential elections, since its state has the first primary election. But Trump is in rocky waters in Iowa right now by picking a fight with its governor, Kim Reynolds, putting his frustrations on Truth Social over her neutral stance on the Republican primaries and her close relationship with DeSantis.

“I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won,” Trump wrote in a post. “Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!”

Reynolds has attended DeSantis' major donor retreat in Palm Beach, and all three of his events in Iowa earlier this year. Although Reynolds' office has not commented on Trump's post, his attacks prompted a state senator in Iowa to flip his endorsement for DeSantis.

“Iowa Republicans must be united if we are going to take our country back and reverse Joe Biden’s failures,” said Iowa state Sen. Jeff Reichman in a statement. “Gov. DeSantis has achieved the same type of commonsense policy victories in Florida as we have in Iowa under Gov. Kim Reynolds, and he will deliver historic success for the conservative movement as president as well.”

Stephany Matat is a politics reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY-Florida network. Reach her at smatat@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump focuses on young voters at Turning Point Action conference