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Every year, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) attracts the right wing’s powerful, power-hungry, and their adoring fans. If you like networking at an event that combines stump speeches with a bacchanalia, CPAC is for you.
Republicans have control of the presidency, both chambers of Congress (albeit narrowly), and a supermajority of the Supreme Court. CPAC 2025 was both a victory lap and an embrace of President Donald Trump’s brand of conservatism. It was a bit smaller than previous CPACs, but the mood remained high.
Behind-the-scenes at CPAC
CPAC kicked off on Thursday with a speech from Vice President J.D. Vance, who later won the straw poll for who should run for president in 2028.
Thursday was particularly eventful. Steve Bannon stoked outrage with what some said was a Nazi salute during his speech. Bannon claimed he was simply waving, but not before a French far-right leader canceled his speech in protest of the salu—er, wave.
At the end of the day, Elon Musk wielded an actual chainsaw onstage—a not-so-subtle nod at the financial waste and bureaucracy he’s tasked with gutting as head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Throughout CPAC, there was a distinct sense that the speakers all received a list of approved talking points. You could almost see the bucket in which they were carrying Trump’s water.
Kash Patel being confirmed as director of the FBI was a popular applause line. Anything about Elon Musk solicited cheers. Same too with talking about Trump’s cabinet picks and policies, particularly deporting undocumented immigrants. Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were less popular, though the boos might not have been quite as loud as Trump may have liked.
Karoline Leavitt brought some razzle dazzle by revealing that she’s being sued by the Associated Press for banishing it from the press pool over its refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. The traditionalists at CPAC don’t mind the change; at least one vendor was even selling sequined jackets that said Gulf of America.
The far-right thinks Claire is good at pool
On Friday night, the resort’s bars were packed with all walks of right: From the donor class to the J6er class. The Ronald Reagan Dinner was postponed an hour-and-a-half at the last minute. Attendees in formal wear filled the hallway waiting to get in as wait staff hurriedly got the room ready. Ballgowns and ballcaps as far as the eye could see. As I racked a game of pool, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio complimented me on the “tightest triangle” he’d ever seen. Whatever that means.
For all their power, conservatives still seem to feel persecuted. Outside of the resort itself, people were cagey about why they were in town. “For a conference,” a very nice couple from Indiana told me. They lit up when I said I was also attending CPAC, giving the sense that they felt we were in on the same secret. The husband said he felt like this year CPAC was a celebration of a return to normalcy.
Saturday began with a subdued vibe, probably owing partly to Friday’s celebration going late into the night, and partly to the greatly enhanced security ahead of Trump’s speech to close out the conference.
If you’ve heard Trump speak at all in the last year, you’ve heard some version of his CPAC remarks. He workshopped nicknames for former President Joe Biden, mispronounced former Vice President Kamala Harris’ name, blathered about immigrants from asylums and jails, and spoke well of himself.
To someone on the fence, it may have been off-putting. But for today’s CPAC, it was exactly what they came for.
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