NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — President Donald Trump sought to assure his supporters Saturday that the coronavirus is under control after earlier confirming the first U.S. death attributed to the infection and boasted of the country's great economic comeback after Wall Street's worst week since the 2008 financial crisis.

Rallying conservatives eights months before the election, Trump mocked the height of Democratic candidate and former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, crouching at the lectern for dramatic effect, called Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a "lowlife" for his vote to convict the president on an article of impeachment and described Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as a "crazy professor."

Against the backdrop of a growing global virus and the South Carolina Democratic primary, Trump delivered a 90-minute speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in which he crowed about his political success in 2016, lashed out at his preferred targets — Democrats and the news media — and polled the audience on which of his rivals would be easier to beat in November.

The response suggested the answer was Sanders.

Trump warned of "far-left radicals" who will "indoctrinate our children ... impose a fanatical code of political correctness, bombard our citizens with fake news propaganda and implement policies that would turn America very quickly into a large-scale Venezuela."

He called the House Democrats "lunatics," railed against illegal immigration and complained about losing the distinction as Time magazine's person of the year to the teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Trump sneered at Democrats for questioning the job he's doing on the threat of the spreading novel coronavirus. Trump was criticized over remarks he'd made during a political rally in South Carolina on Friday night calling the virus the Democrats' "new hoax," likening it to the Russia investigation and the impeachment inquiry and trial.

Trump said Saturday during a White House news conference that he wasn't calling the virus a hoax, but rather the Democrats' accusations that he's mismanaging it.

"Everything is under control," Trump told the CPAC crowd, falsely stating that it was the Democrats who "wanted to let infected people pour into our country."

The annual gathering of activists and politicians was created in the 1970s to reflect Ronald Reagan's brand of conservatism. But in recent years, the event has become a Trump affair.

As a private citizen, Trump spoke at CPAC for many years before formally entering politics, but he was never taken seriously by attendees as a presidential contender.

Romney, now persona non grata at the event because of his conflicts with Trump, was once a darling of the CPAC crowd, winning the group's presidential straw poll in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., won it in 2015 and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2016 — the years Trump ran for, and won, the presidency.

Now, the mention of Romney's name elicited boos and thumbs-down gestures from the crowd as Trump assailed the 2012 GOP presidential nominee.

Romney, the only Republican to vote to convict Trump on the abuse of power article of impeachment, said the president's actions were "grievously wrong" in pressuring Ukraine to investigate domestic political rivals, including former vice president Joe Biden.

Anne Copp, a former state representative in New Hampshire, voted for Romney in 2008 and 2012, but said she was very upset by his "grandstanding" vote on impeachment.

She said she liked that Trump criticized him during his speech.

"His political career and aspirations are over," she said of Romney.

Wearing a rhinestone Trump pin, Copp, 59, said she cried multiple times during Trump's speech because she was so moved.

A lifelong Republican, she said she is worried about the increasing popularity of socialism in the United States — especially among young people.

But she said there are enough people who recognize the dangers posed by socialism that she thinks Sanders would be the easiest candidate for Trump to beat.

The audience booed when images of Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., flashed on the screen and booed at the mention of socialism.

Trump basked in chants of "four more years" as he disparaged the Democratic presidential candidates one by one.

He described a recent Democratic debate in which Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., challenged Bloomberg on his record, marveling at her success and describing Bloomberg's performance as the worst. Trump claimed that Biden couldn't put words together and that if he were elected, others would be running the country while "he'll be sitting in a home somewhere."

He repeated a crowd-driven poll from his rally Friday night in asking the audience to determine the easier candidate for him to beat, "Sleepy Joe" Biden or "Crazy Bernie."

This crowd, like the one in South Carolina, cheered loudest for Sanders. The only difference was that in South Carolina, Trump urged Republicans to vote for Sanders in their state's Democratic primary — which allows anyone regardless of party to vote.

But not every Republican is confident that Sanders will be easy to beat.

Ken Gosnell, 47, who runs his own consulting business in Frederick, Maryland, said he's concerned about Sanders' strong following but also said he is confident that Trump will win on his record — especially on the strong economy and family values.

Gosnell's wife was adorned in a short-sleeve dress with TRUMP 2020 emblazoned over it.

Trump ended his speech vowing to save America before embracing a U.S. flag, kissing it and mouthing three times, "I love you, baby."