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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Mikey Smith

Liz Truss jets to same US conference as anti-abortion Donald Trump backers

Liz Truss has jetted to Washington DC to appear at a conference with a string of right-wing Trump supporters.

Despite Parliament still sitting for another week, the former PM has left Westminster to take part in the International Democrat Union conference in the US capital.

Ex-Northern Ireland Secretary Minister Brandon Lewis tweeted to say he was also appearing at the event, alongside a raft of anti-abortion and pro-gun rights politicians.

Ms Truss, who has not spoken in the Commons since she was ousted as PM, was spotted by an eagle-eyed Twitter user, who posted a photo of her in a DC cafe.

A spokesperson for Ms Truss told the Mail the event was a gathering of “centre-right” politicians, and she was attending “at the invitation of former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the IDU chairman.”

But many of those on the guest-list hold views that would be considered on the hard-right in this country - opposing gun controls, backing bans on abortion and same-sex marriage and supporting Donald Trump even after the January 6th insurrection.

Among those appearing are Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence and Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan - both of whom are strongly anti-abortion.

While Sullivan initially opposed Trump when he stood for election in 2016, he voted for him in 2020.

The Senator voted to acquit the disgraced former President in both of his impeachment trials, and voted against setting up a congressional probe into the January 6th Insurrection.

A 'pro-life Catholic, Sullivan supported the overturning of Roe vs Wade, removing constitutional protections for abortion rights in the US. He also opposes same-sex marriage.

Another staunchly anti-abortion figure on the line-up is Texas Representative Dan Crenshaw - who also opposes gun control measures and said Democrats and the media had exaggerated the threat of Covid-19.

Republican Representative Dan Crenshaw (Thomas Hartwell/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

While Crenshaw didn't go along with claims the 2020 election was "stolen", and criticised fellow Republicans who encouraged it - he voted to acquit Trump in his subsequent impeachment trial.

And Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who supported Trump despite the former President attacking his wife Heidi's looks and linking his father to the JFK assassination, is also appearing at the conference.

After a rocky start to their relationship as 2016 rivals, Cruz ended up being one of Trump's more gushing Republican backers.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz (Getty Images)

Cruz refused to certify Joe Biden's victory in 2020, and was widely criticised for "empowering" the Trump supporters who stormed the capital.

In May 2021, he was filmed describing January 6th as a "violent terrorist attack" - but apologised the next night on far-right provocateur Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, saying his remarks were "dumb."

During his 2016 Presidential campaign, Cruz released a video of him cooking bacon on the barrel of an assault rifle.

“Mmmm,” he said on the clip. “machine-gun bacon.”

The clip re-emerged after the same model of rifle was used in a school shooting in his home state of Texas - leading Cruz to accuse opponents of trying to "politicise" the tragedy.

The line-up is completed by former House Speaker, failed Presidential candidate and Republican Big Beast Newt Gingrich, who capped off a lengthy political career as a staunch Trump loyalist.

He was said to be on Trump's shortlist for Vice President in 2016, and supported Trump's claims of voter fraud in 2020.

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