The third day of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is kicking off in National Harbor, Md., Thursday, with some of former President Trump’s top allies set to speak.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (D) and Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) are all on the schedule amid growing speculation over whom Trump will choose to be his running mate.
The event comes as Trump, who currently holds about a 2 percentage point lead over President Biden in national polls averaged by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ, is on a glide path toward nomination.
Follow The Hill’s live updates here.
Megyn Kelly: Trump broke CNN
Conservative pundit Megyn Kelly bemoaned what she said is bias in media against Trump.
“Trump broke CNN,” she said during her first-ever appearance at CPAC.
“I wasn’t allowed to do this when I was at Fox,” she said. “But now I’m free!”
Vance calls for breaking up Google to ensure ‘fair election’ in 2024
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) called for breaking up Google to ensure a “fair election” happens this year.
“If you want to have a fair election in 2024, break up Google,” he said.
Vance argued that Google is “dominated by left-wing radicals” and that the search engine is “one of the reasons” for the problems in the country.
Conservatives have argued that internet platforms like Google are biased to prioritize liberal views and suppress conservative ones.
—Jared Gans
Vance says ‘you’re in the wrong job’ if focus is more on Ukraine than southern border
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) called out members of Congress who support providing additional aid to Ukraine, arguing they’re “in the wrong job” if they care more about that than securing the southern border.
“If the thing you care the most about is a conflict 600 million miles away, you should not be in the Senate,” he said.
Vance argued members of Congress should care more about fentanyl that cartels have brought across the border and is killing Americans.
Vance is part of a faction of Senate Republicans who are increasingly opposed to further aid to Ukraine to defend itself against the invasion from Russia.
He said he is not supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin and is not anti-Ukraine, but considerations need to be taken of how the war will come to a diplomatic end.
—Jared Gans
Amid VP chatter, Stefanik touts she’s ‘stood in the breach’ for Trump
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), whose name has made the rounds as a possible running mate for former President Trump, said on Friday that she’s “stood in the breach” for the Republican frontrunner.
“Time and time again, I’ve stood in the breach for president Trump,” Stefanik said in CPAC remarks on Friday.
She touted flipping her district from Democrat control to become “Trump and Elise country,” and boasted being the first member of Congress to back Trump’s reelection bid.
Stefanik had been increasingly seen as a possible vice presidential pick if Trump wins the GOP nomination, though she wasn’t named among a half-dozen figures on a shortlist that Trump confirmed this week.
— Julia Mueller
Farage knocks legal cases against Trump
British politician Nigel Farage, known for his championing of the Brexit movement. accused the Biden administration of trying to “bankrupt” and “imprison” former President Trump as he faces multiple ongoing legal battles.
“Corrupt regimes, undemocratic countries — they either try to bankrupt or imprison their political opponents. And in the case of the Biden regime, they are trying to do both to Donald Trump,” Farage said in remarks at CPAC, arguing that’s why Trump needs “unwavering support.”
Farage, a longtime Trump ally, called the $355 million in penalties Trump was ordered to pay in his civil fraud case in New York an “absurd” and “obscene” court judgment.
“And this is just the beginning of many battles that he faces over the course of the next few months,” Farage said.
Trump is running for another term in the Oval Office amid 91 criminal charges across four state and federal criminal indictments, plus additional civil lawsuits.
— Julia Mueller
Gaetz calls to defund United Nations
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) critiqued foreign aid and called to defund the United Nations, prompting applause from an audience at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
“We shouldn’t have any foreign aid to any other country without corresponding cuts to our own bloated federal budget. If you want to send aid to Israel, fine, pay for it by defunding the United Nations,” Gaetz said.
“The U.S. should be out of the U.N. and the U.N. should be out of the U.S.,” the Florida lawmaker said.
Gaetz also took a swipe at Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and argued that “what’s really left unsaid in this Ukraine aid debate is that Europe’s fecklessness is a direct result of them becoming national security welfare queens.”
Gaetz last year forced a vote on a motion to vacate that ultimately ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the Speakership. The House spent weeks embroiled in Speaker-less chaos before Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) got the gavel.
At CPAC, Gaetz praised a CNN article that reported on recent high-profile retirements from the House in the wake of the GOP dysfunction.
— Julia Mueller
Jordan says he’s heard from whistleblower from Willis office
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said on Friday that his committee has heard from a whistleblower in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s office.
Speaking at CPAC, Jordan said Willis hadn’t followed up with him after Jordan subpoenaed Willis earlier this month regarding how her office was using federal funds. A former Willis employee claimed they were let go from her office amid concerns she raised on how a Willis aide wanted to use federal funds.
“No we haven’t heard back from her yet, we’ll see what we get from her. But there’s a whistleblower in her office who we have talked to — our committee staff,” Jordan noted.
— Caroline Vakil
Noem calls border situation a ‘warzone’
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) called the situation at the Southern border a “warzone” during remarks to conservatives on Friday.
“Make no mistake: an invasion of our country is happening, and our border is a warzone,” she said, tossing the blame to President Biden.
Noem bashed the administration over its border policies, and prompted applause from the CPAC audience with a quip that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “suck.”
The South Dakota governor announced this week that she’s deploying National Guard troops from her state to the southern border as many in the GOP sound alarms about immigration.
Noem, who is an oft-cited name in chatter for a possible running mate pick for former President Trump, also tossed her support behind the Republican frontrunner.
She’s is among the lineup of leading GOP figures speaking at the annual conservative conference in National Harbor, Md., just outside Washington, D.C.
— Julia Mueller
Noem takes swipe at Trump primary rivals
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), whose name is on former President Trump’s rumored shortlist for a 2024 running mate, took a swipe at Trump’s primary rivals, questioning why they got in the race against the quasi-incumbent.
“For themselves? For personal benefit? For a spotlight for a period of time?” Noem asked at CPAC.
The remark appeared as a dig at Nikki Haley, who is sticking in the GOP race as the last candidate standing between Trump and the GOP nod even as she trails the former president in the polls.
“It did not and it does not strengthen our country if conservatives are not united enough to recognize that we need to win,” Noem said, throwing her backing behind Trump.
Noem said she decided against running herself in 2024 because “why would you run for president if you can’t win.”
Earlier this month, Trump name-dropped Noem when asked about a possible running mate for 2024.
— Julia Mueller
Right-wing host says some Jan. 6 rioters were ‘real heroes’
Right-wing radio host Sandy Rios called some of the people who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, “real heroes” of the day.
Rios said during a panel Friday that the “injustices” done to those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 are “breathtaking.”
“That’s why our country is in such turmoil and people are upset. And that the real heroes, I think … let’s just say some of our real heroes were there on January the 6th, actually putting their lives on the line when they saw the police attacking the people,” Rios said.
The panel also featured Jeffrey Clark, who served in the Justice Department during the riot and was a major proponent of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. It also included Geri Perna, the aunt of Matthew Perna, who died by suicide after pleading guilty to multiple charges related to Jan. 6.
—Jared Gans
Steve Bannon among CPAC attendees
Steve Bannon, a former adviser under Trump, is among the many high-profile members of the MAGA movement in attendance at this year’s CPAC.
—Caroline Vakil
Levin rails against Biden, Hamas
Conservative pundit Mark Levin used his session on the stage Friday to rail against President Biden’s foreign policy, which he referred to as “arson.”
Calling Biden “an imbecile,” Levin criticized the president for his posture on the Israel-Hamas war and accused mainstream media outlets of sympathizing with terrorists.
Trump VP speculation kicks into high gear
As CPAC kicks off for another full day of speakers, all eyes will be on Trump’s VP hopefuls.
Among those speaking today are South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), both of whom appear to be on the shortlist for Trump’s possible running mates.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), another potential pick, weighed in on the topic during a Politico interview on Tuesday.
Read her comments here.
Tuberville on Alabama IVF ruling: It’s ‘hard’ for women
Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) acknowledged the challenging situation some women face in his state after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children and subject to legislation dealing with the wrongful death of a minor.
“That’s a hard one. It really is,” Tuberville told reporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday.
Read more here.
Where the Haley-Trump fight stands
This year’s CPAC is playing out over the backdrop of the South Carolina GOP primary, which happens on Saturday — incidentally, the last night of the conference.
The Hill’s Niall Stanage weighs in on where the battle between Trump and Nikki Haley — who has vowed not to drop out despite trailing the former president — currently stands.
Read more here.