Campaign

Trump to speak at CPAC this month

Former President Trump is set to speak at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) later this month, the group announced Friday.

Trump was added to the list of confirmed speakers for the event slated for Feb. 21-24 in National Harbor, Md., just outside Washington, D.C.

“CPAC is not neutral on Donald Trump. We’re all in,” said CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp, announcing the former president’s addition to the lineup on Steve Bannon’s “War Room.” “Donald Trump is going to break the records and come to CPAC for his fourteenth appearance next month.”

Others set to address the conservative confab include Vivek Ramaswamy, who suspended his presidential bid and endorsed Trump last month, as well as Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who has been floated by some a possible vice president pick for Trump.

Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan (R) are also among the dozens of scheduled speakers.


Jason Miller, a longtime adviser to Trump, reposted the CPAC announcement about the former president’s appearance. The Hill has reached out to Trump’s team for more information.

Trump has regularly addressed the conservative conference going back to 2011 — before he entered electoral politics. The annual event draws top activists, elected officials and other figures in the GOP, and this year’s conference in Washington comes months ahead of Election Day.

It’s unclear if Trump’s last remaining rival for the GOP nomination, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, was invited to this year’s conference. Haley is campaigning in South Carolina, the next major state to hold a GOP contest, in an effort to cut into Trump’s large lead in polls.

The Hill has reached out to CPAC and Haley’s campaign.

CPAC “enthusiastically” endorsed Trump’s presidential bid last month.

The former president won last month’s Iowa caucuses by 30 points and the New Hampshire primary by 11 points, cementing his status as the GOP front-runner even as he campaigns amid various ongoing legal battles, including multiple criminal indictments.

“As conditions at the border, the economy and culture dramatically worsen every day, one person has again clearly won the hearts and minds of conservatives for his tireless commitment to Make America Great Again,” CPAC said in a statement last month.