Eyes on Donald Trump as he returns to Washington for first time since leaving White House
- Former US president tests waning appeal in Washington visit shadowed by January 6
- Trump will speak at a conservative conference as he weighs 2024 announcement
Donald Trump is coming back to Washington as Republican rivals manoeuvre for a possible primary challenge and lawmakers probe his culpability for the January 6 insurrection.
The former president will deliver a keynote speech on Tuesday at the America First Agenda Summit, a conservative conference.
His remarks come after a House committee hearing that portrayed him standing by indifferently, even vindictively, for hours as a mob of his supporters battled police and chased lawmakers through the halls of the Capitol.
Trump isn’t expected to announce a third run for president in his Washington speech, according to advisers. But the notoriously mercurial ex-leader could change his mind on the way into town from the airport.
A day before he speaks, his former vice-president, Mike Pence, will deliver remarks of his own, highlighting the rivalry that has developed between the two men after Trump lambasted Pence for refusing to participate in his scheme to overturn his re-election defeat.
In the aftermath of his defeat and the chaos that unfolded at the Capitol on January 6, Trump slipped out of Washington in disgrace the morning of President Joe Biden’s inauguration.