EXCLUSIVE — With the United States facing an invasion of illegal immigrants across the Mexican and Canadian borders, a Chinese spy balloon crossing the continent, rampant crime and drug use, social media and woke corporate attacks on traditional values, and the liberal media’s bid to silence conservatives, one obvious theme for the annual CPAC gathering emerged.

According to Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the Conservative Political Action Conference that runs March 1-4, the theme is “Protecting America Now.”

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In an interview on Friday, Schlapp said he and his team settled on it Thursday night. “You are the first to get it,” he said.

“The thinking behind the theme is, I think people are still in shock that we're not protecting our borders. That, compounded by the fact that we're not protecting our airspace. We're not protecting our families. We're not protecting our children. We have record levels of people overdosing from fentanyl. We have rampant crime, so we're not protecting people, their security to be safe in their home. It’s alarming,” Schlapp said.

It will be the first time in two years that Washington has hosted the event, which has been on tour to Florida and Texas during the COVID era. It will return to Gaylord National Harbor.

The convention is one of the largest conservative political events of the year and attracts speakers from Capitol Hill, corporate America, and potential and announced presidential candidates, this year including former President Donald Trump and Nikki Haley.

It has also become a growing global conservative force, attracting key international leaders eager to show off their conservative credentials. This year, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will address the convention, and Schlapp teased the attendance of others.

With its outsize share of political influencers and young activists, CPAC is also the starting place for the 2024 GOP primaries. It ends with the release of a presidential poll of attendees.

“The gun goes off in the presidential race at CPAC. And let's face it, this is the time when the presidential candidates are fine-tuning their initial messages,” said Schlapp.

This year’s convention will also have a heavy focus on the new House GOP majority, efforts to build on it in the 2024 election, woke politics, and the new debate sparked by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene about a political “divorce” between red and blue states.

Schlapp told Secrets that he is no fan of a “divorce” but is eager to foster debate on the issue.

“I'm very opposed to that idea. I want to make this work as the Union. I want to reconsider the great role that Abraham Lincoln had in preserving union,” he said. “I think we’ve got to find a way to re-found the country and to preserve it, and what it's going to take is tolerance.”

Schlapp said he expects a media sideshow will be on a recently leveled anonymous sex battery claim against him. He denies the charges and said it's unfair to have to counter anonymous charges.

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In the interview, he said he has for years faced media attacks and that some liberal reporters have the goal of taking down conservative celebrities.

“The liberal leftist media has been intent on destroying CPAC and me as well for a number of years now,” said Schlapp. “Why is it not acceptable for me to have my politics and for people to respect that and just let us raise our kids? Instead, we have to, you know, hire security officers because of threats. This just has to end."