The excitement over former President Donald Trump was palpable throughout the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference ahead of his keynote address slated for Saturday.
Throngs of CPAC-goers decorated themselves with MAGA apparel, while memorabilia for other 2024 hopefuls were all but nonexistent. Trump's clout felt as strong as ever over a decade after his first CPAC address in 2011, even as its pull within the Republican Party has appeared to wane with multiple likely 2024 GOP hopefuls such as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) skipping the annual confab.
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“He is the only one now that can save this country in the political realm and go against the deep state and fix what the Biden administration has destroyed,” Dawn Hogan, a New Jersey resident, told the Washington Examiner regarding Trump.
Hogan’s sentiment was echoed by over a dozen attendees interviewed by the Washington Examiner, most of whom favored Trump winning the GOP nod in 2024 over DeSantis or any other potential foe.
Among the myriad of CPAC attendees, there was an eerie sense of remorse over the 2020 election. Many felt that Trump got a raw deal and deserved another swing at the presidency.
“Trump should be the president currently. … We see the energy that is going forward right now,” Kevin Alan, who hosts the Kevin Alan Show podcast, said before pivoting to the GOP primary. “Trump's going to kick the daylights out of all those great people, and they're all going to unite at the end.”
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Trump loyalists packed the cavernous Potomac Ballroom at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, which overlooks the Potomac River just outside of Washington, D.C. Sitting in the ballroom, wearing everything from rustic cowboy hats to snappy business suits, they heard from revolving conservative panels and speakers who lavished praise on Trump.
Outside the CPAC aura, Republicans have splintered on Trump. Polls have found that a sizable faction within the GOP wants an alternative candidate to be the party’s standard-bearer in 2024, with DeSantis regularly polling second to him in a hypothetical primary race.
But with DeSantis and a handful of other prominent conservatives forgoing the event, Trump’s remained the rage. But the possible candidates weren't the only people missing from CPAC.
“I think it's smaller,” Chairman Bruce Cherry of the Seminole County, Florida, Republican Executive Committee said. This was Cherry’s third CPAC, and he felt some other conservatives eschewed it because they weren’t fully on board the Trump train.
“I think there’s a bit of a division in the party, and I think the party needs to get its act together. We’ve got a country to save,” he added, noting that he favors Trump being the nominee.
CPAC has been engulfed in controversy over the sexual misconduct allegations surrounding its organizer Matt Schlapp — accusations he firmly denies. But there’s a broader unease about CPAC within some conservative circles, as moderates in the movement grumble it has lurched too far to the right and devolved into a Trump cult.
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“I think this is just the media causing controversy,” Hector Garced, a New York resident, said about divisions in the movement, particularly between Trump and DeSantis. “Just so that they can say, ‘Oh, you see, the Republican Party — the GOP is a mess.’”
In addition to DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) were no-shows, as was almost anyone from the congressional Republican leadership, aside from House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
Presidential contenders Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as speculated 2024 hopeful Mike Pompeo, all had scheduled appearances, but they didn’t appear to garner any widespread presidential support from attendees. One man who made a small splash was Detroit businessman Perry Johnson, who recently declared a long-shot bid for the presidency and held a VIP event Thursday at CPAC with some of his followers.
Navigating CPAC has previously proven to be a political minefield for some Republicans out of favor with the activist base of the movement. In 2015, former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) was rumored to have bused supporters to the conference to buoy himself and weathered jeers of dissent during his address.
Historically, CPAC has been Trump’s domain. Although he did not win the straw polls in 2015 or 2016, he has won every other one since. Past conferences saw his most enthusiastic admirers parading around golden statues in his honor and donning wildly flashy costumes as a tribute to him.
So far, the conference’s MAGA fanfare appears a tad toned down with a lower concentration of red MAGA hats and less flamboyant outerwear traversing the sprawling complex relative to past CPAC outings, according to attendee Joey Mannarino, who has been a regular at the event since 2016.
”It’s a little less MAGA than previous years ... just in terms of seeing gear, in terms of hats, in terms of seeing shirts — it’s a little less Trumpy than in years past,” he said. “Usually, it’s excessive. This year, it’s more tamed down.”
Occasional detractors of Trump that cropped up at CPAC repeated familiar gripes with him, contending he was a damper on Republicans in past elections and that he was not the most formidable hopeful in the likely 2024 GOP field.
“I definitely think that the Republican Party just needs some new blood,” Jenna Keurian, a student at James Madison University who leans toward DeSantis, said. “I don't think we can elect Trump again. I think that the media has really done him in. After Jan. 6, I don't think he's going to be electable.”
“I just took a picture with this guy,” Dave Simone from Chicago said, showing a photo of him next to an attendee who wore a DeSantis hat. “He's telling me Trump should step down and all this stuff. Then I go, ‘The only reason DeSantis is governor is because of Trump.’ I said he could be VP, if he wants. He's only fourth on my list.”
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While the bulk of spectators appeared to favor Trump, many had kind words to say about DeSantis as governor. Backers of Trump largely contended that he was more of a proven concept than DeSantis and indicated they would coalesce around the Florida governor if he beat out Trump. The prevailing view appeared to be that DeSantis should make room for Trump in 2024 or join forces with him and then have his turn down the line.
“I think DeSantis would be great for 2028. I think Donald Trump should be the president in 2024. He should have been the president,” Jonathan Goldstein said. “I personally think DeSantis is a great candidate . I think he's done a great job for Florida, demonstrating what freedom looks like.”