Trump slaps DeSantis, Pence for skipping confab
Former President Donald Trump Thursday taunted Republican rivals Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence for skipping the conservative CPAC conference — and bragged that he will rule the roost as usual.
Deriding them as “certain ‘candidates,’ ” Trump (photo) suggested the Florida governor and former vice president were ducking an unfavorable comparison with him among the right-wing activists who will attend.
“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,” Trump said on his social media site.
Trump, who is revving up his comeback 2024 White House bid, vowed to draw a packed house for his “monster” keynote speech at a suburban Washington hotel on
Saturday.
“They are trying to expand the room and space,” Trump said. “See you there, and don’t forget to vote in the important Straw Poll!” he added, referencing the informal vote attendees take naming their favorite presidential “candidate.”
DeSantis and Pence, who have not formerly announced their decision to run, insist they are busy with other Republican events, including a Club for Growth donor retreat to which Trump was not invited.
Other heavyweights like Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel are also skipping the event, along with several high-profile GOP lawmakers and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, considered a rising conservative star.
The only announced big-time rival to Trump, Nikki Haley, will speak on Friday, although she appears to be relegated to a 10-minute morning spot right after a 30-minute speech by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), a top Black conservative.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who has launched a long-shot candidacy, will also speak as will former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, another potential 2024 candidate.
Despite Trump’s chest-thumping, the luster is mostly gone from CPAC, which was once a must-attend event for Republicans, especially on the party’s right wing.
Even though he leads most recent polls, Trump’s outsized presence is controversial to some who want to see fresher faces lead the right-wing movement and take back the
White House from President Biden.
Pence is a longtime CPAC speaker who has not appeared at the conference since he drew the ire of many MAGA loyalists by resisting Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The cold shoulder by many top Republicans marks a dramatic change from 2015, the year before the last competitive GOP presidential primary, when CPAC’s schedule included nearly all of the major candidates.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is running for reelection next year, will speak this time but fellow 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is giving it a pass.
Up-and-coming conservatives like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is coming, along with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has made waves recently with calls for red states to secede from the union in a so-called “national divorce.”