CPAC 2021 speeches: 2024 GOP prospects seek their own breakout moments at

On Feb 28, 2021

Though it will take years for the 2024 race to fully take shape, this year’s CPAC in Orlando, Florida, offered a window into a GOP primary dominated by a new Republican Party built around the grievances that animated Trump’s campaigns and his presidency.

Speakers embraced Trump’s lies about the 2020 election being rigged. Organizers built this year’s event in Trump’s adopted home state around the theme of liberal “cancel culture” in the wake of Trump being banned from social media platforms. The crowd booed reminders to wear masks, much like Trump eschewed his own health experts’ recommendations.

“Let me tell you right now, Donald J. Trump ain’t going anywhere,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Friday.

And CPAC attendees seemed to agree.

“There’s nothing he can say that can make me change my mind about him,” Bob Paxton of Ocala, Florida, told CNN.

Red “Make America Great Again” hats and pro-Trump paraphernalia have been ubiquitous, and every CPAC attendee who spoke to CNN said they would support Trump if he decides to run in three years. The unofficial, organized efforts to generate buzz for GOP presidential candidates that were a hallmark of CPACs during the Obama years were nowhere to be found this year.

The weekend in Orlando demonstrated that Trump is poised to be at the center of Republicans’ 2024 nominating contest, whether he decides to run again as the clear favorite or instead chooses to play a kingmaker role, setting the terms of the race and determining which candidates are persona non grata in a GOP built in his image.

Trump loyalists only

The clearest illustration of a conservative base that remains fiercely loyal to Trump came from Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who had objected to certifying Electoral College votes from key swing states, effectively attempting to disenfranchise those states’ voters and overturn the results of the 2020 election. He bragged about his efforts at CPAC, claiming he was standing up for “election integrity.”

In Washington, Hawley has faced backlash over his efforts on January 6, the day a pro-Trump mob emboldened by the former President’s speech stormed the Capitol. But in Orlando, he was treated as a hero.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here. I’m gonna stand up for you,” Hawley said, to the loudest cheers of the day Friday.

He also pointed to the backlash he’s faced, which included a publisher canceling plans to publish a forthcoming book that has since been picked up by another publisher, as an example of liberal cancel culture. “I thought it was an important stand to take, and for that the left has come after me. They tried to silence me. They canceled a book,” he said.

At this year’s CPAC, Republicans who have broken with Trump — such as Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse — and those on ambiguous terms with the former President — including former Vice President Mike Pence, who rejected Trump’s pressure to try to overturn the election results, and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who has offered tempered criticism — were not on hand.

Also largely ignored: President Joe Biden, who was mentioned roughly as often as toy-maker Hasbro’s decision to drop the “Mr.” in front of the name of its famous “Potato Head,” favoring the gender-neutral name. None of the major speakers attempted to make a detailed case against Biden’s $1.9 trillion plan to combat the coronavirus pandemic and stimulate the economy that passed the House early Saturday morning.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced just as much criticism over his handling of the pandemic as Biden faced.

“Florida is like an amazing woman. Adventurous, beautiful, mostly sunny, sometimes a little crazy, and always here to encourage and support success,” Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said. “By contrast, New York is like a bad ex-husband — mean, won’t let you go out to dinner; you’re less safe, financially spiraling downward, and they may kill your grandparents.”

Breakout star?

The breakout star of CPAC’s first days might have been South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was among the only speakers to articulate a vision of conservatism that — while consistent with Trump — sought to more broadly define the party’s principles.

“We must more closely articulate to the American people that we are the only ones who respect them as human beings,” Noem said. “That we are the only ones who believe the American people have God-given rights. We are not here to tell you how to live your life, how to treat you like a child or criminal because you go to church or you defend yourself.”

Noem decried what she said is an “organized, coordinated campaign to remove and eliminate all references to our nation’s founding and many other parts of our history” — seizing on Trump’s complaints about progressives who have attempted to remove some honors given to slave-owning founding fathers and Confederate leaders from the public square.

“Our founders had their flaws, certainly. But to use those…