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Among elected officials and GOP agents, intense disagreement rages on the future of their party. But no sign of dissent will be seen this weekend when Conservatives gather for an annual conference that has long featured the Republicans’ internal debates.
Instead, one theme will rule them all: loyalty to Trump.
The former president plans to use Sunday, the last day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, for his first public speech since leaving the White House just over a month ago. Throughout the weekend, loyalty tests will be everywhere – panels touting Trump’s bogus allegations of election fraud, speeches from Republican hopefuls who will argue to congratulate him, and a straw poll designed to show him as the favorite for the party’s presidential nomination in 2024.
“He’s not done with politics,” said Matt Schlapp, president of the American Conservative Union and organizer of the annual conference known as CPAC. “Is he running again?” This remains to be determined. But he’s going to mess around in the political environment every day of this cycle.
The four-day convention, moved this year from the Washington, DC area to Orlando, Florida, to take advantage of softer COVID restrictions, has always featured partisan red meat more than detailed political talks, said Matt Gorman , a Republican strategist.
“CPAC knows what will resonate with its members, and it’s always the corner issues that pit the base against Democrats or, in some cases, other Republicans,” he said.
What sets this year’s gathering apart is the focus on an individual and their grievances. Trump’s relative calm since leaving the White House and, almost simultaneously, losing his platform on Twitter has added to the anticipation.
“It falls into place perfectly for Trump,” Gorman said. “It’s his night out.
Schlapp, who is in frequent contact with Trump, said the former president was “eager to leave.” The annual conference was the scene of memorable speeches by Trump when he was president, including a two-hour epic in 2019 just after his failed summit in Hanoi with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
An overview of the list of conference topics clearly shows its purpose:
Protecting Elections Parts 1-4 – “Why we need to protect elections”; “Why the judges and the media refused to examine the evidence”; “The left has pulled the strings, covered them and even admits it”; and “Failed States (Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Oh My!)” – will compete with more traditional conservative tariffs such as attacks on the rising power of China (and California), denunciations of the tech industry and warnings against democratic plans to promote low-emission cars, regulate guns and promote the rights of LGBTQ Americans
“We chose signs that the Conservatives are interested in,” Schlapp said. “If the schedule seems heavy for Trump, it’s because the conservative movement and what Trump has done as president have converged.”
In all, at least nine sessions will focus on the former president’s dissatisfaction with the 2020 results and attempt to amplify his false claims of being the rightful winner.
This is in stark contrast to the last CPAC meeting just after a Democratic president took office, Republican strategist Alex Conant said.
In the winter of 2009, after President Obama’s inauguration, Rush Limbaugh gave a keynote speech at the conference, urging conservatives to rise up and look ahead, Conant said.
This conference “was memorable because of its forward-looking nature,” he said. “What’s striking is how different this one will be. It looks like this one will be very backward-looking – a defense of what many voters rejected in the election.
For Republicans, focusing on the 2020 stimulus has already proved costly. As President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion COVID relief package moves towards passage, polls showing quarter or more of Republican voters back him, party has struggled to mount an effective attack , in part because GOP elected officials have spent a lot of their time attacking each other. .
This week, for example, Republican House leaders called a press conference to criticize the bill. This was largely overshadowed when, in response to a reporter’s question, two of the executives disagreed over whether Trump should speak to CPAC.
“Yes, he should,” said Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, the Republican House leader.
Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), The third member of management, objected.
“It depends on CPAC,” she said, but added, “I have been clear on my take on President Trump.”
“I don’t think he should play a role in the future of the party or the country,” she said.
On Thursday, in an interview with Fox News, McCarthy criticized Cheney: “The idea that a Republican would join the cancellation culture is beyond bogus,” he said.
Needless to say, Cheney will not appear on CPAC. Neither Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate who won the CPAC presidential straw ballot that year.
At a conference this week sponsored by The New York Times, Romney said, referring to Trump: “I don’t know if he plans to run in 2024 or not, but if he does, I’m almost sure he would win the nomination. . It wouldn’t be his preference, he clarified.
“I would be behind someone in the small wing of the Republican Party that I represent.”
Trump supporters who fell below his threshold of absolute loyalty are also not on CPAC’s agenda, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. She clashed with Trump in criticizing him after his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6.
“I think he lost any sort of political viability he was going to have,” she said in an interview with Politico. “I don’t think he’ll be in the picture.”
So far, this prediction from Haley seems wrong. Republicans had a “mini Arab Spring” in the aftermath of Jan.6, with many elected officials openly criticizing Trump for stoking the anger of his supporters before the attack and for failing to call off the rioters when the violence began, said said Charlie Sykes, a prominent conservative Wisconsin radio host turned critic of Trump.
But that quickly faded after Republican voters made it clear their continued loyalty to the former president, he said.
“You had this feeling that maybe this was the time the Republican Party sobered up,” Sykes said. “But it didn’t take.
The Jan. 6 attack “won’t happen much,” predicted former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah who is now a Fox News contributor and is scheduled to speak on Friday.
Those who broke the law on this “horrific day” are being investigated and “should be prosecuted,” Chaffetz said. But he added: “I don’t blame the president for other people breaking the law.”
Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Another CPAC panelist, said the focus on Trump was understandable, but not a sign the party couldn’t move forward.
“I think we’ll move on – with Donald Trump,” he said. “The president has a unifying impact on the base, but whoever is a candidate in 2024 will have a job to reach others outside the base.”
The conference agenda includes several prominent Republicans who all hope to succeed Trump as the party’s presidential candidate – but don’t dare say it out loud.
The senses: Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Rick Scott of Florida, as well as State Governor Ron DeSantis and former Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo each have important roles and will likely be hired. Trump while avoiding acknowledging the electoral loss.
It just reflects the reality of the party’s voters’ position, Chaffetz said.
“I don’t think you can be a successful Republican without embracing the basic ‘Make America Great Again’ message in your rationale for running for office,” he said.
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