Criticism of Joe Biden’s administration, the 2020 election, attacks on transgender healthcare and “wokeness” are likely to be recurrent themes across the four-day gathering for right-wing activists and GOP officials from across the US at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC.
Donald Trump will be Saturday night’s headliner once again, seeking to re-establish his grip over the Republican Party in the wake of November’s disappointing midterm results and the emergence of Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis as a serious potential challenger for the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2024.
Mr DeSantis will not be there, however, nor will Mr Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence or newly-elected House speaker Kevin McCarthy. Attendees will be addressed by the likes of Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo and Jair Bolsonaro, among others.
Meanwhile, American Conservative Union chair Matt Schlapp, whose organisation runs the conference and who has served as a key figure elevating the former president and his movement, faces accusations of sexual misconduct from a former Republican campaign aide.
