NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump supporters flocked to the Conservative Political Action Conference this year, even as other potential Republican contenders have chosen to sit it out.
The former president was the first to announce his bid for the 2024 Republican ticket, just days after the November 2022 midterm elections came to a close. Last month, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley joined the race, though she didn’t receive as warm a welcome at the conference when she spoke Friday.
Speaking to a half-full ballroom, Haley reportedly relied on the same talking points she has so far highlighted since announcing her candidacy last month — calling for President Joe Biden to take a “mental competency test” and even making a dig at Trump’s loss of the popular votes in both 2016 and 2020.
“I think President Trump is the leader of the Republican party. I’ve been saying it for a long time now. And I guess that’s what Nikki Haley just found out too,” said Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
However, even as excitement mounts at the conference for Trump’s speech Saturday night, several prominent members of the GOP — touted as potential 2024 contenders — like former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chose to pass on the conference. As a result, some are questioning if the conference still carries the same weight it did in the past — indicating that CPAC may skew more in Trump’s favor and brand of politics, reflected in the speaker’s list, discussion topics and events.
DeSantis, though he has not yet announced his candidacy, is seen as Trump’s biggest political threat in 2024, though polling in the days leading up to the conference showed the former president was ahead.
Even then, Trump is expected to focus Saturday’s speech on DeSantis. Axios reported Friday that Trump planned to talk about DeSantis’ political record, his response to the COVID-19 pandemic and what he sees as DeSantis’ disloyalty, among other things.
Meanwhile, DeSantis is spending his weekend promoting his new book, “The Courage to be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival,” avoiding a head-to-head clash at an event where some feel Trump has a home-field advantage.
“Does Ron DeSantis know something the rest of us don’t know,” quipped CPAC attendee Bill Moher. “I think that this is Donald Trump’s event.”
Even then, some attendees don’t feel the party has become inundated with infighting.
“I feel a lot of camaraderie here. There are people for Trump, there are people for DeSantis, there are people for others running,” said Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.
Trump will be the final speaker of the conference and is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. ET Saturday. You can watch his remarks on C-SPAN.