Criticism of Joe Biden’s administration, the 2020 election, attacks on transgender healthcare and “wokeness” are likely to be recurrent themes across the four-day gathering for right-wing activists and GOP officials from across the US at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC.
Donald Trump will be Saturday night’s headliner once again, seeking to re-establish his grip over the Republican Party in the wake of November’s disappointing midterm results and the emergence of Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis as a serious potential challenger for the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2024.
Mr DeSantis will not be there, however, nor will Mr Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence or newly-elected House speaker Kevin McCarthy. Attendees will be addressed by the likes of Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo and Jair Bolsonaro, among others.
Meanwhile, American Conservative Union chair Matt Schlapp, whose organisation runs the conference and who has served as a key figure elevating the former president and his movement, faces accusations of sexual misconduct from a former Republican campaign aide.
Trump claims Pence and DeSantis are too boring for CPAC
Trump criticised his vice president Mike Pence and potential 2024 rival Ron DeSantis or skipping this week’s CPAC.
“The only reason certain ‘candidates’ won’t be going to CPAC is because the crowds have no interest in anything they have to say. They’ve heard it all before, and don’t want to hear it again,” he wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.
GOP congressman calls Mark Milley a ‘traitor’ and claims children are ‘not safe’ in school
Far-right congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina called Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Mark Milley – a decorated service member and highest-ranking military officer in the nation’s armed forces – “a traitor”.
Moments earlier at his CPAC appearance alongside US Rep Scott Perry, Mr Norman dismissed Vice President Kamala Harris as “the giggler” as he mentioned the possibility of impeaching Joe Biden and lambasted the Biden administration and its response to the Chinese surveillance balloon.
Mr Perry said breaches into American airspace should be “met with maximum force” against China.
In his closing remarks on the panel, Mr Norman claimed that “our children are not safe” in America’s schools, amplifying right-wing moral panic involving teachers, LGBT+ rights and discussion of race and racism in classrooms and workplaces.
Trump says potential 2024 rivals aren’t at CPAC ‘because the crowds have no interest’
The conference known for hoisting a golden Trump statue and platforming an array of far-right figures is reportedly losing interest from many potential 2024 contenders and high-profile Republican officials.
Not appearing at CPAC this week: potential GOP presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence.
Donald Trump says he knows why:
“The only reason certain ‘candidates’ won’t be going to CPAC is because the crowds have no interest in anything they have to say,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.
“They’ve heard it all before, and don’t want to hear it again,” he said. “But my speech, on Saturday night, is already a sold out ‘monster.’”
He said his speech will discuss “the fact that, obviously, our Country is going to ‘HELL,’ and how to fix it.”
Schlapp suggests House Republicans should impeach Biden cabinet
Standing next to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan on the CPAC stage, Matt Schlapp asked the crowd whether they want to see Joe Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas impeached. The crowd cheered.
“Is this the most incompetent cabinet group we’ve ever seen?” he asked Mr Jordan. “This impeachment word … how do you handle all the wrongdoing?”
He later asked the crowd if they want House Republicans to impeach Mr Mayorkas.
Matt Schlapp and Jim Jordan kick off CPAC’s Thursday events
Thursday’s event begins with Jim Jordan, the new chair of the House Judiciary Committee and a founding member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.
He is speaking with CPAC chief Matt Schlapp, who suggested on stage that Mr Jordan’s committee should subpoena journalists at The New York Times and The Washington Post who were awarded Pulitzers for their coverage of Russian interference in 2016 elections, reporting that Mr Schlapp, Donald Trump and other Republicans falsely claim is fraudulent.
