Only a few rising stars like Florida congressman Byron Donalds, whom Trump backed to be governor, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary who now works as governor of Arkansas, came down.
Few people remembered Vance’s address, but almost all of the reports of CPAC led with images of Musk, whom as a naturalized citizen cannot run for president, wearing his Dark MAGA hat and shades, swinging around a chainsaw gifted to him by Argentinian President Javier Milei.
But instead, as has been the case throughout the first month of the Trump presidency, CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp and his wife Mercedes announced that Elon Musk would speak later in the day.
CPAC, which usually takes place at National Harbor in Maryland just outside Washington, holds a special place in Trump’s heart since he gave his first major political speech in 2011.
Before Trump took the stage, his campaign pollster Jim McLaughlin released the results of this year’s straw poll showing 61 percent of attendees want Vance to be the 2028 Republican nominee.
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