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The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is working to take over the Republican Party to ensure it remains a populist party like former President Trump.
The AFPI’s mission was made clear at a two-day conference this week in Washington, D.C. The event, which brought together Republican luminaries from the Capitol and far-flung state capitals, showcased its platform ahead of the midterm elections. Billed as Forum.2024.
“We are laying the groundwork to revive the America First agenda,” said Brooke Rollins, president of the organization. [will be] Return to the White House, Congress, and the State Capitol. ”
While many of the meetings centered around the present, we never forgot the upcoming presidential election. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich “will do in the next few years what the Heritage Foundation did” for President Reagan by influencing the direction of government, he told AFPI.
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Trump was the keynote speaker, but AFPI officials repeatedly stressed that they were laying the groundwork for a future Republican president.
“If President Trump decides to run, I think he will clear the field,” said former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway. Dozens of men and women who do, and indeed the Republican nominees and winners of the 2024 election, will proudly and loudly guarantee to be the mantle-bearers of the America First policy agenda. ”
Much of the conference focused on the group’s efforts to define what “America First” means in terms of policy and ideology. Trump popularized the term during his 2016 presidential campaign, but Republicans are still working on a definition.
That reality allowed a large contingent of Republicans to embrace the slogan without having to explicitly commit to a set of policies. It created tensions and ultimately thwarted some of the administration’s agendas.
“I think this conference… helps shape where we want to go, but in honor of all the think tanks in town,” Texas Rep. Chip Roy said. “All the ideas in the world are worthless if there are no people in Congress willing to stand up and fight for them.”
Several AFPI officials, many of whom worked for the Trump administration, said they understood the issue. That’s part of the reason the organization is working to outline an America First agenda and identify someone sufficiently dedicated to staff the next Republican White House, they say.
Proponents say the policy agenda is not only an opportunity to define what America First means to the average voter, but also a platform on which candidates can adopt. In doing so, they will be committed to helping enact at least a portion of it when elected.
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This strategy will ensure that Trump, or whoever the Republican nominee is for 2024, will have less resistance to enact legislation and regulations if he wins the next election. I am hoping for
In laying the groundwork for the next Republican president, AFPI says its mission is guided by two simple principles.
“As we craft these policies, first and foremost is to ensure that we incorporate America First into our policies and decision-making, but that we actually advocate for effective and implementable policies. It’s about making sure you’re doing it, too.” Chad Wolfe, former acting secretary of homeland security in the Trump administration.
Not everyone agreed with AFPI’s move to develop an America First agenda. Peter Navarro, who served as Trump’s trade policy adviser, launched an attack on the organization in an op-ed published on the day the former president was scheduled to speak.
“Yes, it is important for President Trump to have a well-qualified policy expert who can build a platform for 2024 and find solid MAGA talent to feed into the new Trump administration.” Navarro wrote on the conservative website American Greatness. “But the AFPI Trojan Horse — whose leadership now boasts about how it will staff Trump’s ‘shadow cabinet’ — is clearly not.”
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Some AFPI officials were quick to downplay infighting among former Trump staffers, noting that the former president chose to attend the meeting.
“Obviously President Trump is against it,” Conway said. “He is here.”