NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said he wasn’t at the CPAC to talk presidential politics, but he couldn’t resist a few subtle digs against Donald Trump.
“I wasn’t here to talk about any of the presidential candidates but in a time of constitutional crisis I would suggest to you as you listen to presidential candidates over the next few days, you should be listening with the ears of grandmas and grandpas worried about their grandsons and granddaughters,” Sasse cautioned the crowd.
The outspoken freshman senator from Nebraska has railed against Donald Trump, encouraging residents of his home state not to vote for the business mogul in the primary. During a recent interview on MSNBC, the senator said that “if the Republican Party becomes the party of David Duke, Donald Trump, I’m out.”
After speaking about the importance of conservative ideals, Sasse told the CPAC crowd to ask themselves if their candidate of choice believed in Reagan’s brand of limited government and Lincoln’s brand of equality. He also cautioned about the potential of government overreach.
“Do you hear presidential candidates that champion the greatness of Americans, not the greatness of Washington D.C., or those who would rule us as politicians? You need to hear from your presidential candidates someone who you would like to sit at the dinner table with your children,” Sasse said.
He added, “What we need most of all is not someone who just wants to breathe fire on Washington but wants to breathe passion into our children for a constitutional recovery because that’s how we will actually make America great again.”
