President Trump defended his decision to declare a national emergency by invoking how past US presidents have used the emergency power. “Many emergency declarations have been used to protect people in faraway nations and distant lands,” the President told the audience at CPAC on Saturday. “Now we are protecting finally our people.” While Trump admitted that even some in the Republican Party had pushed back against his decision, he cited his usual rhetoric of an "invasion" at the southern border as justification. “We are being invaded," Trump said. "We’re being invaded by drugs, by people, by criminals, and we have to stop it.” The President also acknowledged some Republicans' fears that the move could set a precedent that could potentially be used against them by Democrats in the future. “They’re going to do that anyway folks,” Trump argued. “The best way to stop that is to make sure that I win the election." He also added that through his immigration policies, he was trying to do the work that Congress couldn't, or wouldn't, do. “Our laws are so crazy,” Trump said, “But one by one we’re finding ways. You know they call them loopholes, a lot of our laws are loopholes. Well, I’m trying to get loopholes to get around the loopholes because our Congress can’t act. They just can’t act.”<doc-sep>Sign Up For Newsletters Woman receives gift of motherhood after cancer diagnosis Stacey Abrams on writing herself into the story – and history Maya Angelou and Sally Ride to be honored on quarters Dancers seek to rid ballet performances of Asian stereotypes China's censors cut some new friends from the "Friends" reunion Lawmakers call for ambassador to protect Afghan women Boat carrying 20 overturns heading from Cuba to Florida SolarWinds hackers have launched new campaign, Microsoft says "3-martini lunch" tax break should be axed, lawmakers say Flying over Memorial Day? Expect long lines at airports Some great white sharks are getting closer to humans, videos show Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On<doc-sep>In one of his longest – and characteristically wide-ranging – speeches as president, Donald Trump Saturday went after both Democrats and fellow Republicans, said people are trying to get him out of office with "bull----," and announced he will be signing an executive order to require universities to support "free speech" or forfeit federal dollars. "You know, I'm totally off script right now," Trump said early on in his approximately two-hour speech to supporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland. "This is how I got elected, by being off script." The remark earned him one of his standing ovations. Trump's appearance follows a week in which his former attorney Michael Cohen accused him of criminal conduct in testimony before Congress. He also visited Vietnam for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that failed to produce a nuclear weapons deal. North Korea has contradicted Trump's account of the failed negotiations in Hanoi. And Trump was criticized Friday for his apparent acceptance of Kim's denial that he had any involvement in the death of a young American who had been held in North Korean custody. Trump said Saturday he was in a "horrible position" over the situation with Otto Warmbier. "In one way, I have to negotiate. In the other, I love Mr. and Mrs. Warmbier. And I love Otto," Trump said. "It's a very, very delicate balance." 'Of course I hold North Korea responsible':Trump says Warmbier comments 'misinterpreted' Otto Warmbier's parents:'Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son' In his introduction of Trump, Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, said that when the president wants to recharge, he returns to his base. After stepping out on the stage and hugging an American flag, Trump did a lot of recharging. He reveled in the applause and remarked more than once that the crowd was still with him during the lengthy address. "I’m watching those doors and not one person has left," Trump said near the end, although some people did leave early. "And I’ve been up here a lifetime." The speech was more than 30 minutes longer than Trump's previous longest speeches – a 2017 rally in Alabama and this year's State of the Union address – according to the website Factba.se, which tracks Trump’s words. At a minimum, it is 25 minutes longer than remarks at a cabinet meeting on 1/2/19. Here are some of the highlights of the address: Free speech executive order Trump invited on stage Hayden Williams, a conservative activist punched on the University of California at Berkeley’s campus last month. Praising Williams for "taking a hard punch in the face for all of us," Trump urged Williams to sue his attacker, the college and possibly the state of California. “He’s going to be a very wealthy young man,” Trump said. “Go get ‘em, Hayden.” He also announced he will be signing “very soon” an executive order requiring schools to “support free speech” if they want to receive federal research dollars. “If they want our dollars, and we give it to them by the billions, they’ve got to allow people like Hayden...to speak,” Trump said. The crowd responded with chants of "USA! USA! USA!" In addition to the many students attending the CPAC conference in Maryland, others were listening at satellite locations on campuses in Virginia, Colorado and California. The White House has not announced any details about the executive order. Dismissing the investigations Trump denounced as a “collusion delusion” special counsel Robert Mueller’s two-year investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. “We’re waiting for a report by people who weren’t elected,” Trump said. “All of a sudden, they’re trying to take you out with bull----.” Cohen testified before Congress this week that Trump was aware of his associate Roger Stone's communications with the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks regarding emails that U.S. intelligence agencies say were stolen by Russian operatives from the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee officials. 'I am not protecting Mr. Trump anymore. ':Michael Cohen ties the president to ongoing criminal probes Michael Cohen's testimony prompts a new:In web of Trump investigations, is anyone safe? Trump told CPAC he was “having fun with the audience” when he publicly challenged Russia during the campaign to find Hillary Clinton’s emails. And he complained that the investigation has morphed into inspecting every deal he’s ever done. “I saw `Little Shifty Schiff,’” Trump said, referring to Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, “and he said, 'We’re going to look into his finances.' I said, `Where did that come from?'" Attacking his own Trump went after fellow Republicans and some past and current members of his administration. He used a mock southern accent to portray former Attorney General Jeff Sessions saying he would recuse "mahhself" from the special counsel’s investigation. And then he called Sessions, whom he fired in November, “weak and ineffective” because he didn’t do “what he should have done.” The president complained that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell likes raising interest rates and a “very strong dollar.” He bragged about giving former Defense Secretary James Mattis the nickname “Mad Dog” but complained that “Mad Dog wasn’t working too well.” (Mattis announced in December he would step down because of disagreements with Trump ranging from Syria to global alliances.) Trump went after Republican senators who have pushed back on the tariffs he has imposed because they want free trade. “Where did these people come from?” Trump asked. Trump is also facing resistance from some Republican senators over the emergency he declared to get more money for a wall along the southern border. To those who argue the declaration creates a bad precedent that future Democratic presidents will take advantage of, Trump said, Democrats are going to do "whatever they do if they get into power." “The best way to stop that is to make sure that I win the election,” he said. Insulting Democrats<doc-sep>President Trump is scheduled to speak Saturday at the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) near Washington, capping off a whirlwind week for the president that included a summit in Hanoi with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and explosive testimony on Capitol Hill by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, on Wednesday. CPAC’s organizers confirmed the president’s Saturday appearance earlier this week, writing: “We are honored to have @realDonaldTrump join us again for #CPAC2019 where he’ll share his vision for #WhatMakesAmericaGreat. Thank you, Mr. President!” Saturday, the event's final day, will mark Trump’s third consecutive appearance at CPAC while in office, though he has made multiple appearances since 2011. GOP SENATOR SUBPOENAED AT CPAC WAS TARGET OF 'POLITICAL STUNT,' HIS SPOKESWOMAN SAYS This year's CPAC, which began Wednesday in National Harbor, Md., has seen appearances from a range of speakers, including former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Benghazi hero Mark Geist. GET THE FOX NEWS APP Vice President Mike Pence addressed the crowd Friday, denouncing Democrats for seeming to embrace socialism with far-left policies such as "Medicare-for-all" and the Green New Deal. Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
WASHINGTON — In the longest speech of his presidency to date, President Donald Trump riled up the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, letting loose on topics ranging from the Russia investigation and the Democratic presidential field to free speech on college campuses. Trump, still reeling from a blistering week both at home and abroad, claimed he was being "sarcastic" and "having fun with the audience" when during the 2016 campaign he urged Russia to hack Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's emails. “I've learned with the fake news, if you tell a joke, if you are sarcastic, if you're having fun with the audience, if you are on live television with millions of people and 25,000 people in an arena, and if you say something like ‘Russia, please, if you can, get us Hillary Clinton's emails! Please, Russia, please! Please get us the emails! Please!’” Trump said in a mocking tone. Trump was referring to a press conference in July 2016 during which he said, “Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let's see if that happens, that'll be next.” According to an indictment from special counsel Robert Mueller, Russians made their first attempt to hack Clinton’s personal servers that same day. Trump’s remarks, which ran for more than two hours, came just days after he returned from a trip abroad to meet with North Korean leaders, during which he suggested that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was not responsible for the death of American college student Otto Warmbier. "I'm in such a horrible position because in one way I have to negotiate. The other way, I love Mr. and Mrs. Warmbier, and I love Otto. And it's a very, very delicate balance. He was a special young man and to see what happened was so bad," Trump said, appearing to offer an explanation for his previous comments. But for the most part, Trump kept the focus on domestic issues and the national political fray. “All of the sudden they're trying to take you out with bullshit,” Trump said, in reference to Mueller's probe. “Robert Mueller never received a vote and neither did the person who appointed him,” Trump continued, as he attempted to portray Mueller’s team as a group of the “angriest Democrats.” Trump again disparaged his former attorney general, Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from overseeing the special counsel investigation, a move Trump took as an act of betrayal. “And as you know, the attorney general says, ‘I'm going to recuse myself,'” Trump said, mimicking a Southern accent. “And I said, ‘Why the hell didn't he tell me that before I put him in?’ How do you recuse yourself?” Saturday marked the president’s third CPAC speech since he was elected president. In the past, Trump has used CPAC to energize his conservative base — and this was no exception. Trump attacked Democrats as socialists, warned once again of a caravan at the southern border full of “stone cold killers,” and referred to 2020 Democratic candidates as “maniacs," accusing their party of supporting “extreme late-term abortion.” With the 2018 midterms behind him, Trump foreshadowed issues he hopes to focus on in his re-election campaign. The Green New Deal was front and center on Saturday. “Nothing is more extreme than the Democrats’ plan to completely take over American energy and completely destroy America’s economy through their new $100 trillion Green New Deal,” Trump said, describing the Democratic plan to tackle climate change as a “high school term paper written by a poor student." Trump also attacked 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, lamenting that he should not have referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., as “Pocahontas” so early on in the election cycle. “I should've saved the Pocahontas thing for another year because I’ve destroyed her political career and now I won't get a chance to run against her and I would've loved it,” Trump told the crowd. “I don’t want to knock out all the good stuff and end up with somebody that’s actually got talent.” Trump also invited activist Hayden Williams on stage as he announced he plans to sign an executive order “very soon” requiring colleges and universities to support free speech if they want to receive federal grants. Williams, 26, who is not a college student, was reportedly attacked on the UC-Berkeley campus while he was attempting to recruit students to his conservative activist group.