What happened to CPAC?
Picture CPAC in 2020- the largest ballroom at the Gaylord National Harbor hotel filled to the brim with people eager to hear from the most popular voices in the conservative movement. From nationally recognized speakers such as former Vice President Pence and former President Trump to rising Republican stars in the U.S. House and Senate, that year’s conference was full of conservatives supporting CPAC’s 2020 theme of America vs. Socialism. Yet three years later, the massive wave of support for one of the largest events for conservatives has turned into a trickle. Half-empty rooms for speakers, notable speakers missing from the agenda, and scandal after scandal have plagued CPAC for the last few years, leaving many to question—what happened to CPAC?
CPAC used to embody a “big-tent” approach to conservatism, hosting policy experts, presidential candidates, grassroots leaders, Congressmen, Senators, governors, and journalists who all had unique and different perspectives to offer audience members. Prior to 2023, CPAC’s themes had a mostly positive tone – from “We the People: Reclaiming America’s Promise” in 2017, “A Time for Action” in 2018, “What Makes America Great” in 2019, and “America vs. Socialism” in 2020. Speeches reflected these themes and urged listeners to fight against the left’s policy solutions, fight for conservative values, and have a sense of optimism about the future. The last three years however, included themes like “America Uncancelled” in 2021, “Awake Not Woke” in 2022, and “Protecting America Now” in 2023, all focused on the current culture wars and how dire the situation has become according to the conservative movement.
Instead of speaking on successes made by the conservative movement or optimism for the future, this year’s speakers focused intensely on fear. Topics covered the border crisis, big tech, China, the explosion of crime in cities, and how gender confusion has impacted American culture. Fear is a powerful force, but listening to speech after speech that’s depressing and panic-inducing isn’t enjoyable. Even popular speakers struggled to have a strong turnout—except for President Trump, big-name speakers like Nikki Haley, Tulsi Gabbard, and Donald Trump Jr. struggled to fill even half the room. Notable names in the conservative movement, particularly Gov. Ron DeSantis and Fox News, were absent from the conference.
In sticking to its values of celebrating the free market, CPAC also has to compete with plenty of other conservative conferences. Turning Point’s Young Women’s Leadership Summit, AmericaFest, and Student Action Summit have captured the 18-25 audience. For a college student, why go to CPAC, where policy experts and politicians can debate over something “boring” like healthcare or economic policy, when they can go to a Turning Point conference and hear from speakers on topics like dating, raising a conservative family, running for office someday, and attend a country concert. Instead of looking at how to grow its American audience, CPAC has expanded globally and now has conferences in Hungary, Brazil, Israel, Mexico, Australia, and Japan. For a group called the American Conservative Union, the ACU spends quite a bit of time focused on other countries’ policies and political atmospheres.
Not all news is good news, and CPAC certainly has some negative media attention to blame for its waning attendance. Whether planned or not, the stage used at CPAC 2021 resembled an othala rune, a symbol used by Nazi soldiers. CPAC 2023 was marked by sexual assault allegations against Matt Schlapp, Chairman of the American Conservative Union. With 2023 solidifying CPAC’s reputation as the home for Trump supporters, CPAC needs to look at its branding and public image going forward to start attracting more positive attention.
Since its founding, CPAC has found a home in Washington, DC until the pandemic hit. Whether it was DC’s mask and vaccine mandates, or whether CPAC was looking to try something new, CPAC’s move to Florida hid some of the attendance issues with a smaller room that CPAC was able to fill. This year’s speakers were barely able to fill up half the room and it was clear from the media organizations present, the merchandise in the exhibition hall, and the lineup of speakers that the focus was on Trump and MAGA. CPAC has the potential to be the great gathering of conservatives and conservative policy ideas it once was—but without some rebranding and a new internal strategy, CPAC 2024 will only continue to be a lackluster event.