President Donald Trump expressed their proximity to an agreement over mines with Ukraine related to the Russia-Ukraine war, stating “We want everything rare earth, oil from Ukraine to compensate for the money the US gave to Ukraine, the US wants the money back from the aid offered to Ukraine.” Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Trump emphasized the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war, saying “I talked to President Putin and I think this should end, it must end.” He accused former President Joe Biden of the $350 billion the US spent on Ukraine in the ongoing three-year war, attributing it to “a stupid and incompetent president and administration.” Trump mentioned being “quite close” to an agreement with Ukraine and demanded valuable minerals and oil in return for the aid given to Ukraine, stating, “We want everything we can find.” Criticizing certain US media outlets at the internationally attended CPAC conference, Trump labeled MSNBC “a threat to democracy” for spreading false news, called CNN “pitiful,” and claimed that no one reads the New York Times and the Washington Post anymore. Accusing the media of fabricating false news, Trump commented on their lowered confidence, saying, “I watch this MSNBC, which is truly a threat to democracy. In fact, ice-cold, they are stuttering. They are all mentally destroyed. They do not know how their ratings are dropping.” He mentioned shutting down the USAID organization, responsible for coordinating US foreign aid, for being “left-leaning scammers,” and handing over its building to the Customs and Border Patrol. Trump also addressed criticism he faced for some decisions, expressing discomfort at seeing transgender individuals participating in sports competitions with women. Reminding the audience of his dominance over Democratic opponents in the recent elections, President Trump targeted former President Joe Biden in his speech at the CPAC conference, an event he has attended annually since 2016.