It’s a mistake for CPAC to tout Donald Trump, an embarrassment to conservatives | Opinion
The Conservative Political Action Conference concludes Saturday with a speech from former President Donald Trump. If they have anything to say about it, it’s clear whom they want to run for president — and win. The tone at CPAC is obvious depending on who’s president: When a Republican is in office, it’s a massive celebration; when a Democrat is in office, every speech, panel, and advertisement that airs between items on the agenda is framed as a “fight.”
So you can guess how this year’s CPAC feels, with a Democrat as president, and a poor-performing one at that. It makes sense to frame issues and speeches within the context of a political fight Republicans need to win, but it’s unfortunate that CPAC, what with all its influence and reach, has essentially chosen to throw support behind former President Donald Trump. Not only is he not qualified to represent the GOP, but there are at least two other excellent candidates, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, willing to represent the party.
Of course, CPAC isn’t entirely obtuse: Nikki Haley spoke Friday. But her slot was midday, not the coveted Saturday evening time frame — that’s when Trump is scheduled to speak. DeSantis is an obvious strong contender for the GOP presidential primary, but he’s noticeably absent from the event, although he’s holding his own in polls when pitted against Trump. (He’s behind now, but just days ago, he polled ahead of Trump.)
Several Trump allies filled time slots at CPAC: Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary; Kimberly Guilfoyle, former senior adviser to Trump; Donald Trump Jr., and Lara Trump, Trump’s daughter-in-law. It’s clear CPAC is rallying behind Trump, many months before the GOP contenders’ first August debate.
The connection between CPAC and Trump isn’t hard to make and it’s likely twofold: Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and CPAC chairman, is a close Trump ally. His wife Mercedes also worked in the Trump administration for two years. Schlapp’s lobbying firm, Cove Strategies, has done well since Trump took office. Revenue surged to $1 million in 2017 and brought in over $2.3 million in 2020. In 2021,Trump appointed Schlapp to the trust fund board for the Library of Congress and he continued to lobby Trump on behalf of his firm Cove while working a government appointment.
This strategy of mixing government employment, lobbying, friendship and political allies is common among both parties. Here it certainly helps explain CPAC’s ongoing obsession with a person who still thinks he legitimately won the presidency.
But it’s not right for an organization that has a four-day event with media coverage from around the world to just unabashedly support someone who continues to deny 2020 election results, has spent the least three years ranting about world events via his PAC, and attacks any politician who rightly challenges him.
Trump is an embarrassment to the conservative party and CPAC should be using whatever influence it has on fellow conservatives to support politicians who would be better for this party and the country.
