Election fraud is no longer a fraught third rail but party dogma the so-called “Big Lie” is questioned only in whispers. No one seriously doubted that Trump would take the keynote slot at the conference. The 2022 crowd may be awkwardly stumbling to make sense of Ukraine, but they’ve resolved their own crises with a remarkable self-assurance. Whatever doubts may have existed in the conservative mind have since been wiped away. The Democrats are not merely the opposition but an enemy to be crushed. Two roads diverged in a blood-red wood and, live on stage at CPAC 2021, the American conservative movement chose the road less traveled, at least in the United States: conspiracy, vengeance, and a dangerous undermining of America’s long history of peaceful transition of power. This was a party in the midst of an existential crisis. Trump himself was not slated to attend until mere days before the event. CPAC listed Mike Pence as the keynote speaker of the Ronald Reagan dinner. Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham had broken ranks with Trump. At that time, the Republican Party’s future was far from certain the precarity and tension were palpable. CPAC 2021 took place in the shadow of January 6, and the air crackled with panic and uncertainty. It will not be the first time the conference opened with the conservative movement in such awkward arrears.

I work hard.”ĪBC News' Jordyn Phelps contributed to this story.And so, with only a few hours separating the unthinkable and the opening ceremonies of CPAC, the conservative wing of the Republican Party must scramble to develop a position in real time in front of a live audience. “I try like hell to hide that bald spot folks. He then did a 360-turn on the stage and put his hands up to his hair – as if he were styling it. I’d love to watch that guy speak,” the president joked in reference to the screens in the room projecting his image. “What a nice picture that is, look at that.

He also did a little self-mocking, to the crowd’s delight. And we stand for the national anthem,” he said of conservatives as the crowd gave him a standing ovation and shouted “USA USA.” “We go out and salute the American flag and we put our hands on our heart for the pledge of allegiance. The president’s speech was also filled with meaty lines designed to appeal to the conservative crowd. He called out House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi by name, claiming she wants to take away Second Amendment rights, which garnered boos from the crowd. Trump also hit the Democratic Party hard during his remarks. Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel also praised Trump as the party's best messenger for the coming 2018 midterm elections. It was a marked difference from 2016 when then-candidate Trump pulled out of the conference at the last minute, which Schlapp, at the time, called “disappointing.” “I would say right now the relationship is blooming, it’s blossoming.” “He’s done a lot of listening to conservative leaders over the years and his agenda is a conservative agenda,” Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, told ABC News. And the president capped that domination in his hour-plus remarks to a crowd that responded to him in much the same style as his campaign rallies: multiple standing ovations and repeated shouts of “Lock her up” and “Build a wall.” The Trump administration has dominated the conservative gathering with high profile panel appearances. — - President Donald Trump's warm, freewheeling, campaign-style speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday demonstrated his comfort with the conservative movement and how he’s taken on its mantle as leader.

National anthem cpac