edited by: Shankhneel Sarkar
Last Update: March 04, 2023, 15:23 IST
Washington, United States
A portrait of former President Donald Trump is displayed at the cigar booth at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, US (Image: Reuters)
Even Ron DeSantis, who was considered an upgrade of the former president, failed to earn the praise of the CPAC-crowd
US Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Steve Bannon and other Republican heavyweights like Texas Senator Ted Cruz fail to hold the attention of Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) attendees at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center have been right outside Washington.
Haley said there should be faith in the younger generation and urged Republicans to be “tired of losing”. Pompeo warned attendees against becoming left-wing and following “celebrity leaders with their own brand of identity politics, those with fragile egos who refuse to acknowledge reality”, but despite the finely veiled, It is former President Donald Trump who remains the so-called ‘favourite of the people’.
a report by wall street journal Turns out that CPAC attendees have nothing but adoration for Trump. There are stands selling Trump T-shirts, people clicking selfies and pictures next to a Superman-statue with Trump’s face on it and attendees gawking at the idea of Nikki Haley running for president. hate
The report also suggests that they feel the same way towards the ‘new kid on the block’ Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
After the midterms, the Republican Party felt it was better to keep Trump at arm’s length and some blamed him for not giving the party a decisive victory. Even though Republicans now control the House, there was a sense that had Trump not supported some of the candidates, they could have controlled both chambers of the US Congress.
Attendees at CPAC varied. “I don’t want to hear anyone’s name other than Trump,” one Floridian told the news agency. The report said that the man had even got a tattoo of Trump’s face on his thigh. Trump chocolate bars, ‘Trumpinator’ T-shirts and other merchandise were attracting more visitors as they waited for their leader at the convention.
Some attendees even scoffed at the idea of Haley attending, saying she did not support him during alleged vote stealing and lashed out at him when the Capitol Hill riots broke out.
A Ron DeSantis supporter said America needs a Republican governor of Florida to deal with social, cultural and international issues, but acknowledged the crowd came looking for Donald Trump.
“It’s definitely a Trump mob,” the person was quoted as saying WSJ,
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