During the Annual Gala of the New York Young Republican Club on December 9, former President Donald Trump captivated the audience.
Expressing appreciation for the strong support, he highlighted the impressive turnout on his way to the Wall Street venue, eliciting cheers from the enthusiastic crowd and setting the tone for the evening.
“It is great to be back in New York, and it’s a true honor to address the oldest and largest Young Republican Club in the United States,” he said.
“I want to express my tremendous gratitude to all of you for being one of the very first organizations in the entire nation to endorse my 2024 [run],” he said, being interrupted by cheers. “It’s happening, it’s happening. You shouldn’t have had to wait this long. But you know, things like that happen.”
“I’m telling you, this is a place that can be won,” he said.
Conveying optimism, he credited the broad support from everyday Americans for his positive outlook. Trump emphasized that a substantial portion of his campaign funding doesn’t come from major donors but rather from regular individuals and families, with an average contribution of $61 each, resulting in “millions and millions of dollars each week.”
“We’re taking in numbers that nobody’s ever seen before,” he said.
“And if we win New York … then we win the election very, very easily,” he added. “If we win New York and we’ll counter all of the cheating that will go on because we have to catch them.”
Referring to purported irregularities in the 2020 election, he noted that initially, he hadn’t planned to extensively focus on President Biden’s administration. However, facing multiple indictments altered his approach: “Once I got indicted, the first time, and then the second, third, fourth… the gloves are off.”
Trump outlined his campaign, underscoring the divergence between his policies and those of the Biden administration. Emphasizing foreign policy achievements, he pledged to address conflicts in Ukraine and Israel without deploying U.S. troops.
Furthermore, he reiterated his border plans, a cornerstone of his 2016 election, vowing to reinstate travel restrictions and introduce ideological screening in the immigration process.
“If you want to abolish Israel, if you want to sympathize with jihadists, then we don’t want you in our country and you are not getting in,” he said.
“While Biden is devastating opportunities for young Americans, I will fight for young Americans like no president has ever fought before,” he added.
“Yeah, I’m extreme about making America great again,” he said.
In October 2016, President Trump disclosed that amid a tough phase, he consulted nearly a dozen advisors about his chances.
Interestingly, almost all recommended his resignation, despite being the party nominee—except for Steve Bannon, who firmly asserted that Trump would achieve victory “100 percent.”
“If we lose, we lose,” he thought. “It’s horrible, but it’s not historic. … I didn’t like the concept of that.”
“Nobody felt we could win … and now they’re starting to say that we can,” he said. “So we’re going to give it a shot. I’ll tell you what, I’ve never seen enthusiasm like I’m seeing right now.”
