Trump to speak at CPAC next Sunday, but Pence declined invitation

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One source said organizers still hope to change Pence’s mind about participating, while another source said Pence plans to stay under the radar for the next six months. Politico first reported that Pence declined the invitation.

The rift between the two former leaders, which comes as the GOP grapples with its future in the wake of the Trump presidency, follows tensions between Trump and Pence over the Jan.6 riot on the U.S. Capitol and the role of Pence in the certification of election results. for President Joe Biden.

“We accept that Joe Biden is the duly elected president of the United States,” Pence’s former chief of staff Marc Short told CNN’s Pamela Brown on Saturday night as Pence played a role in perpetuating the baseless electoral fraud theories that Trump has repeatedly pushed. of the attack on the Capitol.

Unlike Trump, Pence attended Biden’s inauguration in Washington, DC, last month – after skipping Trump’s farewell ceremony.

Short said on Saturday that Trump and Pence “had left amicably” and had spoken since.

The source familiar with Trump’s plans to attend CPAC, who is also familiar with the former president’s speech, told CNN on Saturday that “he will be talking about the future of the Republican Party and the Conservative movement.”

“Also look for the 45th president to take over President Biden’s disastrous amnesty and border policies,” the source added.

The speaking engagement would mark Trump’s first public appearance after he left the White House last month and comes as senior Republicans are divided over how to treat the former president, with his loyalists visiting him recently in Florida.

One of Trump’s campaign managers, Brad Parscale, met the former president at his club in Mar-a-Lago this week for a lengthy meeting, according to a close source. Utah Senator Mike Lee is hosting a fundraiser in Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night, another familiar source said, a potential sign of further visits to come.

Republican House Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana met privately with Trump on Tuesday in Mar-a-Lago, CNN reported, the day before Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to never do it.

The simmering feud between Trump and McConnell has intensified in recent days, raising questions as to whether the two can ever work together for the future of the GOP.

Trump sued McConnell in a lengthy statement released Tuesday night after McConnell harshly criticized the former Senate speaker last Saturday and in an op-ed Monday in the Wall Street Journal, despite voting to acquit Trump in his second impeachment trial.
In his statement on Tuesday, Trump vowed to support Senate primaries who espouse his worldview – which could lead to a clash with McConnell’s favorite candidates as the seven-term senator pushes Republicans who, according to him, have the best chance of winning next time. mid-term elections of the year.
This tension highlights the rift between leading Republicans over how to run the party after Trump. Unlike McConnell, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy traveled to South Florida after the Jan.6 attack on the Capitol to meet with Trump and later proclaim unity with him by trying to take over the Chamber in 2022.

But McCarthy is leading a conference where a majority of members strongly support Trump – unlike Republicans in the Senate, who are divided over the former president and where some senior leaders are eager to overtake him and instead focus on uniting the party around him. ideas, not a person.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Dana Bash, Kaitlan Collins and Manu Raju contributed to this report.

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