Trump delivers remarks at annual CPAC event - live updates
President Trump delivered remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. He has previously spoken at the annual event for conservatives.
Top Republicans and the head of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, spoke at the conference on Thursday.
Follow Trump at CPAC 2018 live updates below:
Trump is reading the "snake" poem that he often read in 2016
The president is re-reading a poem called "the snake" that he often read on the campaign trail at rallies during the 2016 presidential race.
Trump claims Democrats have "totally abandoned DACA"
Mr. Trump said that Democrats in Congress have "totally abandoned DACA," the 2012 program created to defer deportations for people brought to the U.S. illegally has children. The Trump administration has tried to end the program, but now that case is stuck in the court system.
Lawmakers in Congress recently failed to come up with an immigration deal to protect DACA recipients that would also fund the president's border wall and immigration priorities.
Democrats have not abandoned DACA -- their priority is to protect the program.
Trump says he's going to review the policy of gun-free zones on military bases
"I'm going to look at that whole policy on military bases," the president said about gun-free zones on military bases.
Trump says "we will act" after the Florida school shooting
The president said that the shooting "shocked our nation" and it has "broken our hearts." Mr. Trump said that he had the honor of meeting with students who survived the shooting and families. He said that he pledged to them that he will take some sort of action.
"This was a sick person," the president said about the shooter, adding that officials had a lot of "warning" about him. The president wondered why the U.S. protects airports, banks and government buildings "but not our schools."
"It's time to make our schools a much harder target for attackers," he said, adding that declaring schools to be "gun-free zones" puts students in "far more danger."
Mr. Trump began speaking about his proposal to arm teachers at schools and to allow them to carry concealed carry permits.
Trump says "don't worry, you're getting the wall"
The president says, "Don't worry, you're getting the wall," which prompted people in the audience to chant "build the wall!"
Mr. Trump said there are "characters" in the back that claimed he just made that promise for campaign reasons. He said every time they say that, "The wall gets 10 feet higher."
The president said, "We need more Republicans" in Congress to accomplish that part of his agenda.
Trump refers to his 2011 speech to CPAC
"I was received with such warmth," Mr. Trump said about his 2011 speech to CPAC.
The president said that CPAC used to give "the best speech of" the event and he joked, "You'd better pick me or I'm not coming back here."
Mr. Trump said that his 2011 speech was the "first real political speech that I made."
"It was a lovefest."
Trump says that his speech is a "little boring"
The president asked the audience if he could "go off-script a little bit."
Mr. Trump called his own speech "a little boring."
Trump claims "no president has ever cut so many regulations"
"No president has ever cut so many regulations in their entire term," Mr. Trump said, "As we cut in less than a year."
The president said that the regulations "as big an impact" as the GOP's tax cuts have had.
Trump tells conservatives not to get "complacent" this year
"You have to get out," the president said about turning out to the polls in November. "People get complacent -- it's a natural instinct."
Mr. Trump claimed that if Democrats take control of Congress, they'll repeal the GOP tax cuts, confirm judges that Republicans won't like and he said that they will "take away your Second Amendment," which prompted rousing cheers and applause.
The president then asked the audience which they would prefer more: the Second Amendment or tax cuts.
Trump says that Democrats' opposition to tax plan will "cost them"
The president said that Democrats' opposition to the GOP tax plan that he signed into law in December will "cost them in the midterms."
At the same time, Mr. Trump admitted that, "Historically, when you win the presidency, you don't do well two years later."
He said that conservatives can't let themselves get "clobbered" in the 2018 election.
Trump mocks a protester
The president began mocking a protester who popped up in the crowd during his speech. The audience began chanting, "U.S.A!" and Mr. Trump mentioned the "fake news" in the back of the room.
Mr. Trump said that the headlines tomorrow will be about people disrupting CPAC.
Trump admires himself on the screen on stage
"What a nice picture that is," the president said suddenly, looking at an image of himself on a screen at the event. "I'd love to watch that guy speak."
He then turned around and began moving his hands around his head.
"I try like hell to hide that bald spot, folks," he said. "We're hanging in."