1 of 3 Trump reveals Republican Party split for 2024 election at conservative event — Photo: Portal Trump reveals Republican Party split for 2024 election at conservative event — Photo: Portal
In front of hundreds of seats half empty Donald Trump’s son announced: “Check under your chairs if you can find a gold candy bar”.
In the face of muxoxos of disbelief, Donald Trump Jr. declared, “Seriously, whoever finds it will have a VIP pass to a meeting with his President Donald Trump tomorrow.”
The audience loved it and some of those in attendance even stood up to examine the empty rows at the CPAC Conservative Political Action Conference one of the country’s top conservative political events, which in 2023 became symbolic of a division among Republicans over who to be presidential candidate in 2024.
An unsuspecting person who arrived at the auditorium of the Gaylord National Resort in Maryland, where the event was being held, between March 2 and 4 was able to shout out that Trump would once again be the Republican nominee.
There were people everywhere wearing Make America Great Again hats and stickers, or simply MAGA as the Trumpist movement is called.
Trump enthusiasts like businessman Mike Lindell, known as “My Pillow Guy”, rightwing populist ideologue Steve Bannon or Congressmen Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz were bullied in the aisles.
The shops at the event, with their extravagant rhinestone pistolshaped bags, sold Tshirts and flags with the former president’s face.
“I didn’t know it was a rally. But it’s really a rally,” Trump enthused at one point in a roughly twohour speech that closed the conference and was completely different from the 20 minutes of minutes respected by all other speakers up to that point.
In his speech, Trump, playing the role of party owner, mixed selfpraising, promises for a future government (such as ending the war in Ukraine “in one day” and building another 300 km of wall on the border with Mexico) and such harsh attacks on Republicans Opponents like against Democrats and China.
But Trump’s alreadywon atmosphere couldn’t hide a latent tension: unlike 2020, when he had no challengers, four years later the former president faces an open race for the post of Republican presidential nominee.
Trump’s dominance of the event is not just the result of his political predicates, but a decision by the party’s young stars to empty the conservative event, which was once considered the main rightwing political arena in the country.
‘Maga Carnival’
2 of 3 ‘Carnival MAGA’. — Photo: Portal “Carnaval MAGA”. — Photo: Portal
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was considered the winning Republican in the 2022 midterm election when he was reelected in a landslide victory while Trump saw many of the candidates he personally backed perish in the election. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis decided not to appear.
Although DeSantis is not yet an official candidate, he is considered Trump’s main challenger.
Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence declined the invitation. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were also absent.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, prominent figures on the right, did not present themselves gracefully, nor did the country’s other Republican governors.
But they were there, the anonymous militant with the border wall suit, the unknown artist painting the face of Jesus barefoot on a canvas in the hallway of the event, the noisy group of elderly women with MAGA stickers and purebred dogs in strollers.
As David Siders, national correspondent for the Politico website, noted, “CPAC has evolved in recent years from a serious, mandatory political conference into something more like a MAGA carnival.”
The idea of the carnival certainly translates to the extremely colorful and noisy atmosphere and fantasies of the Trumpist fighters but it doesn’t take into account the ongoing dispute that promises ridicule.
One of the few Republican presidential candidates to attend this year’s event, former South Carolina governor Nikki Halley, said in her presentation, “We lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections.”
His speech reminded Republican activists that Trump’s election in 2016 was via the Electoral College (fewer votes than Democrat Hillary Clinton received) and tacitly admitted that Trump lost in 2020, something he and many in the audience still don’t acknowledge want.
In response, Halley was not applauded by the audience.
Speaking at a CPAC press conference, Rep. Taylor Greene, known for supporting QAnon conspiracy theories and for her allegiance to Trump, said Halley’s opinion “doesn’t matter much right now.”
When asked by BBC News Brasil why DeSantis wasn’t at the event, she joked, “I don’t know, he didn’t call me to explain.”
Trump vs DeSantis
3 of 3 Florida Gov. Ron De Santis could become Trump’s main opponent. — Photo: Portal Florida Governor Ron De Santis could become Trump’s main opponent. — Photo: Portal
At the end of the event, 60% of those in attendance said they want Trump as president in 2024, and 20% voted for DeSantis.
The numbers, publicly hailed by Trump supporters, reiterate the excitement of the MAGA base, but also reveal room for competition even in an openly proTrump environment.
Various popular polls, with broader samples than current CPAC audiences, show that while Trump retains a significant and energetic base, sections of the population are poised to dump the former president in the party’s next primary.
That goes for Republicans under 35 as well as those with college education.
For a BBCpolled voter with those qualities, DeSantis would combine Trump’s advantages without the expresident’s drama or personalistic outbursts.
Moreover, the party machine would already be weary of the control of the party wielded by Trump, who is known for fielding militants against any coreligionist who dares disagree with him.
The 72yearold woman, who professes to be a conservative Christian and was given her CPAC ticket by her soninlaw, categorically refused an extension.
“Trump needs to come back and DeSantis needs to continue his good work in Florida. There is no competition between them. The candidate is Trump. And the rest is media discord.”
Among the media outlets under Trumpist artillery are not just vehicles historically considered progressive, like the New York Times and the CNN network.
This time even the conservative Fox News, audience leader in this segment, was targeted.
Unlike previous editions, Fox did not sponsor CPAC or send its top commentators like Tucker Carlson to the event.
There are those who see the network’s behavior as a tendency to bet on DeSantis against Trump.