{"id":2585383,"date":"2026-03-30T15:43:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T19:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cpac-was-less-star-studded-this-year-bob-cusack\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T15:45:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T19:45:15","slug":"cpac-was-less-star-studded-this-year-bob-cusack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cpac-was-less-star-studded-this-year-bob-cusack\/","title":{"rendered":"CPAC was less &#8216;star-studded&#8217; this year: Bob Cusack"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcpac-was-less-star-studded-this-year-bob-cusack%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2585383&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>CPAC was less <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/super-bowl-lv-all-the-best-commercials\/\" title=\"Super Bowl LV: All The Best Commercials\">star-studded<\/a> this year after Donald Trump adn JD Vance skipped the Texas gathering, according to Washington Examiner executive editor Bob Cusack. He said the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/i-dont-want-women-to-feel-the-way-that-i-did-female-track-athlete-forced-to-compete-against-biological-male-speaks-out\/\" title=\"\u2018I Don\u2019t Want Women To Feel The Way That I Did\u2019: Female Track Athlete Forced To Compete Against Biological Male Speaks Out\">conference felt<\/a> different because the two high-profile figures weren\u2019t there, underscoring that CPAC remains influential but not as showy as in the past. Inside the MAGA movement, there is growing public disagreement and discontent, especially over Trump\u2019s Iran policy, gun rights, and abortion, which could temper Republican turnout in the midterms. While Trump still attracts attention, his base appears fractured, with some allies criticizing the Iran war and other positions, complicating the president\u2019s momentum.Republicans do have fundraising advantages, but insiders say momentum is uncertain and voters may wait until closer to October to assess prospects. The piece also notes that only a few Trump governance figures spoke at CPAC and highlights ongoing polling showing Trump facing notable disapproval, even as the event includes traditional CPAC coverage and commentary.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">CPAC &lsquo;less star-studded&rsquo; this year with Trump and Vance absent: Bob Cusack<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p><em>Washington Examiner<\/em> Executive Editor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/bcusack\/\">Bob Cusack<\/a> said the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cpac\/\">Conservative Political Action Conference<\/a> was &ldquo;a lot different a year ago,&rdquo; as both President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> and Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/JD-Vance\/\">JD Vance<\/a> skipped out on attending this year&rsquo;s gathering in Texas.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;CPAC is influential,&rdquo; Cusack said Monday on C-SPAN. &ldquo;Neither Trump nor Vance went to this year&rsquo;s CPAC, so it was less star-studded than in the past.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4509576\/white-house-congress-return-washington-recess-fund-dhs\/\">White House calls on Congress to return to &#8203;&#8203;Washington from spring break to fund DHS<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4509380\/joe-kent-urges-americans-oppose-us-troops-iran-war\/\">Joe Kent urges Americans to oppose US ground troops in Iran war<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4509267\/watch-live-white-house-news-briefing-iran-war-day-31\/\">WATCH LIVE: White House to hold news briefing amid Iran war&nbsp;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<div style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 640px; max-height: 360px; min-width: 320px; min-height: 180px; overflow: hidden;\">\n<div style=\"position: relative; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/share.grabien.com\/share?id=3453544&amp;userid=11311&amp;usertype=user&amp;loginid=9421&amp;playercolor=%23000000&amp;playersize=auto&amp;code=ff850daddaa6dc37e244fa2af893a893\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0px;\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Just a few members of the Trump administration spoke at CPAC, including Health and Human Services Secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/robert-f-kennedy-jr\/\">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>, Agriculture Secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/brooke-rollins\/\">Brooke Rollins<\/a>, and Deputy Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4504899\/todd-blanche-targets-robert-mueller-cpac-russia-investigation-hoax\/\">Todd Blanche<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Trump and Vance have attended previous CPACs, where they have given impassioned speeches that rile up the base, especially during election years.<\/p>\n<p>Cusack said last year&rsquo;s CPAC was different because Trump was coming off a &ldquo;massive&rdquo; election win.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That said, when I say it&rsquo;s different than a year ago, is that you think about a year ago, the president was flying high,&rdquo; Cusack said. &ldquo;[He] won all seven battleground states, won the popular vote against Kamala Harris. And here, a year later, it&rsquo;s different.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Cusack pointed out that a year after Trump&rsquo;s victory, there is a divide in the conservative movement with MAGA allies disagreeing with each other publicly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You have MAGA stalwarts fighting each other publicly,&rdquo; Cusack said. &ldquo;There are certain parts of MAGA that are not really pleased with this Iran war, so the president has a bit of a base problem right now.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A core issue the president campaigned on in 2024 that resonated with voters was ending &ldquo;all foreign wars.&rdquo; Numerous former MAGA allies criticized Trump for the Iran war, including <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tucker-carlson\/\">Tucker Carlson<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/megyn-kelly\/\">Megyn Kelly<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Besides Iran, Cusack said MAGA people are unhappy with the president on gun policy and abortion rights.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is the first time I&rsquo;ve actually seen this because President Trump really courts his base,&rdquo; Cusack said. &ldquo;MAGA people who are not happy with the president, and that is really going to impact [midterm] turnout for Republicans.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4504784\/fox-news-poll-gives-trump-highest-disapproval-rating-across-both-terms\/\"><strong>FOX NEWS POLL GIVES TRUMP HIGHEST DISAPPROVAL RATING ACROSS BOTH HIS TERMS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Despite the president&rsquo;s declining popularity, Cusack said there is &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >good news&#038;rdquo<\/a>; for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They have a lot of money for the election, but they don&rsquo;t have the political momentum,&rdquo; Cusack said. &ldquo;Talking to Republican lawmakers recently, they say, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s early, talk to me in October.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cusack: CPAC less star-studded without Trump and Vance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3984,"featured_media":2585384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP21059859838158.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651,538],"tags":[73687,4914,3711,19858,21677],"class_list":["post-2585383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-bob-cusack-2","tag-conservative","tag-coverage","tag-cpac","tag-star-studded"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP21059859838158.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3984"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2585383"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2585387,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585383\/revisions\/2585387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2585384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2585383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2585383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2585383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}