Tea Party leader Jenny Beth Martin lashed out against Donald Trump in a speech Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
“I know Donald Trump says he loves the Tea Party, but that’s not what it takes to be Tea Party,” Martin, who’s chair of the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, said. “Donald Trump loves himself first, last and everywhere in between. He loves himself more than our country. He loves himself more than the Constitution. He doesn’t love you or me, and he doesn’t love the Tea Party. Donald Trump has no business thinking he’s Tea Party. Every Tea Party person who truly loves the Constitution should take that into account when casting their vote.”
Trump was scheduled to address the conference early the next morning, but announced he was dropping out of the conference shortly after Martin’s speech.
Martin criticized Trump’s promise to “open up the libel laws” if elected. “When I hear a candidate he wants to mess with our rights to free speech, I fear for our Constitution and our country, because that is not Tea Party” Martin said.
Martin went on to list Trump flip-flops. “He was for universal healthcare, before he was against it. He once supported the biggest tax increase in history, and now he says he wants to cut taxes. He was pro-choice before he became pro-life. He donated to Democrats before he donated to Republicans. He funded the establishment candidates against the Tea Party before he said he loved the Tea Party.”
“You can always count on this: on any given issue, at any given time, Donald Trump will take the position that serves his interests as he perceives it at this time,” Martin said, referring to Trump’s support for eminent domain to take a widow’s home in Atlantic City, N.J.
A solid portion of CPAC attendees appear to be Trump supporters, but Martin’s speech was well-received by the ballroom crowd. There were rounds of applause scattered throughout the speech. When she concluded, Martin received a standing ovation from a solid portion of the ballroom.
Trump was not the only presidential candidate to draw ire from Martin. She said Marco Rubio ran as a Tea Party candidate in 2010 but was later “used by the other side” on immigration once he joined the Senate. “He’s been trying to make up for that ever since.”
Martin’s preferred candidate? “Why should you vote for Donald Trump anyway?” Martin said. “If you’re Tea Party, you’ve got a much better candidate to support: Ted Cruz.”
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
