Speakers back Trump ahead of speech

CPAC GATHERING

• Donald Trump’s hold on the republican Party was on full display at an annual gathering of prominent u.s. conservatives Friday as ally Sen. Ted Cruz said the former president “ain’t going anywhere.”

Prominent congressional conservatives — including senators Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley, and representatives Steve Scalise and Matt Gaetz — were among the Trump loyalists expected to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla., which Trump will address on Sunday.

“Let me tell you something: donald Trump ain’t going anywhere,” said Cruz.

He also joked about the controversy he generated by flying to a seaside resort in Mexico last week as millions in his home state of Texas were struggling without water or power during a severe winter storm that killed at least two dozen people.

“Orlando is awesome. It’s not as nice as Cancun — but it is nice!” said Cruz.

Trump is expected to talk about the future of the party and lay out policy differences within a group riven by differences in the wake of his chaotic four years in office.

“The divide right now is between the ‘beltway elites’ and the conservative grassroots around the country,” said a Trump adviser who helped prepare the speech.

Trump’s tumultuous final weeks in office saw his supporters launch a deadly attack on the u.s. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to block Congress from certifying Joe biden’s election victory, a win that Trump claimed was tainted by widespread fraud.

A total of 17 republicans in Congress voted to impeach Trump for inciting insurrection, although the Senate vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict. Some prominent republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, blasted Trump for his role in sparking the conflagration, but more members still voice support for him.

even Mcconnell was unwilling to keep pressure on Trump, saying in a Fox News interview on Thursday that he would vote for the former president if he were the party’s 2024 nominee — though he described the contest as wide open.

Trump also faces legal challenges, with the Manhattan district Attorney’s Office conducting a criminal investigation of his family-run Trump Organization.

Trump, 74, is expected to dangle the possibility of running for president again in 2024, a prospect that complicates life for other republican presidential hopefuls, including former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former vice president Mike Pence.

Pence, who was in the Capitol with his family when rioters stormed in chanting: “Hang Mike Pence!” is not expected to attend.

Many republicans think Trump will flirt with another run to freeze the 2024 field but believe he will ultimately opt out of running.