let's have cpac 365. maybe the conference is not going on every day but the spirit of the conference lives. at did we realize something along the way. as much as we are america first people and we want to focus on our country, we have great allies all over the globe. i see our friends from korea. we have our friends from other countries, we are all in the same fight together, but all of those countries, all of them are rooting for all of you to defeat socialism in america, because if we do not have a strong america the whole world loses. >> that is right. we brought on elaine, built up a partnership. you started this incredible show, you have this incredible series as well that i want you to talk about. tell us about your show cpac now in addition to this series. >> the main thing is is it is not about us. it is about god, obviously. isn't that who we serve? >> amen. >> the idea is to talk about the good things that is happening. at one of the great things that happen already this year is a lot of people

it is taken from members of cpac. host: in the washington times today, a survey of 1060 registered voters. the question republican primary voters of who they picked for the gop nomination. donald trump by 55%. ron desantis 25%. mike pence 8%. nikki haley 5%. it is one of the many surveys out there on this topic. another want release -- another want really saturday? guest: yes at the conclusion of the event. host: good morning. caller: thank you for having me. host: what is your question or comment? caller: thank you for all the americans who welcomed me. i'm trying hard to pay back what americans gave me. my question is related to that. i am very sad because i see division in our political environment. why do we have this division? i forget his name, he said, why do we see good people divided? everybody is unique. why don't we have the good people from both aisles work together? guest: congratulations on your citizenship. that is exciting. however to your question, there has been so many books and articles written on

>> for those who have never watched cpac or attended what is it and what happens? >> ahe good question it has changed over the last number of years it is a gathering of conservative lawmakers and presidents andnd thought makers it used to be a broader tent conservatives of all stripes coming to the event moderate establishment person with though right fringe it is a mixture of people coming into this conference at last a few days a f few years ago it was in florida following the rise of governor desantis this year in washington dc at the national harbor but the past couple of years it is a trump dominated event that has catered more to ultraconservatives of the party you see a lot of moderates or establishment figures coming into cpac and less you consider former president trump to be the establishment so it is our conference paying homage to the former president. >> today through saturday covering the cpac this year taking place at the gaylord hotel just a couple miles down from the potomac river and you mentioned donald trump speaking when is that headline set qu

i used to love cpac! it turned into this really ugly environment where i would not be safe to walk into cpac now, not that i want to go now, but i would not be safe there. anyone who questions donald trump or questions the hypocrisy of the cpac crowd now, accepting trumpism, accepting this nationalism, it's become the event of failed dictators, dolts and democracy bowers. when you have kari lake and marjorie taylor greene as the headliners. this is the big to cover that had the ronald reagan's and encourages people at the, stars of the conservative movement, whatever you think of them now. this is who their headliners are now, no under ron desantis and other more quote "establishment people" don't want to. go >> shyer bolsonaro, fresh off his defeat at the subsequent coup attempt essentially -- >> in hungary, orban, they lifted up orban. something else that is interesting about this too is the absence of fox news. i listened to your epic monologue at the top of the hour, where you nailed it about fox. the

from australia, cpac where has events. from hungry where cpac has its inaugural events.rom france, spain, italy, from all over the world. this annual conference of cpac has now become, for the entire conservative movement across the free world, this is the epicenter. it's an amazing tribute. it really is. [applause] not for the first time in my life, i find myself today, in a bit of trouble. [laughter] with the u.k. authorities. a story is broken overnight. a lot of messages have been leaked between the prime minister, city officials who were overseeing lockdowns. mask mandates, vaccine mandates, the people in charge of our country, the story broke overnight. i went to tulsa in the summer of 2020, to donald trump's first rally on the campaign trail. i did that because i am a friend of his. i did that because i believe in him. i did that because i think he is the bravest man i ever met in my entire life. [applause] coming back from tulsa, under bizarre, draconian lockdown rules, it meant i had to quarantine at home for a fortnight. now, what was fortnight? what was 14 day

the cpac thing -- cpac now is like the 25 japanese troops in a cave somewhere in 1953 waiting for theimaries. i won't zero them out completely. but if you look at the scientific poll of republican voters and you pull -- you get the aluminum foil had long enough to get their attention and you pull the people running up and down the hallways, hawking the stuff at cpac, there's not a lot of correlation. it is a symptom of the weakness of the trump thing, not the strength that he owns the shrinking island. >> i've got to ask you what you think the ideological center of the republican party is at this point. because when i think of club for growth, i'm thinking these are the money to republican elites who really care about low taxes. and when i think about the political figures who speak at cpac, it's kind of the grifter class. but money is the central thing that ties it all together. is it not? i'm just trying to understand what the republican party is actually about -- >> yeah, politics has become about -- it -- confused me as a regular republican -- grassroots were about -- establishmen

hello, ron, cpac mired in controversy. some conspicuous absences. is cpac still the place to be? >> not really, in the republican party. it has its internal problems with the person who runs it, the sexual misconduct by another republican but also seen as a trump subsidiary at this point. it is reflected in one way of an interesting kind of evolution and trump's appeal in the republican party when he won the first time it was surprisingly little differentiation in the support from very conservative voters to moderate voters. this time, if you look at the early polling about 2024, he is much more dependent on the conservative voices in the party and the conservative voters. you can see that reflected in the fact that he's dominant at cpac meanwhile most of the field in his backyard in south florida auditioning for the club for growth which is a conservative group that focuses on economic issues. >> meanwhile, ron desantis is visiting southern california and that of attending cpac were you surprised by that. was that a missed opportunity for him? >> first of all i think it's first

fox news, vaccination is not covering cpac.say all day, fox news is going to make you more stupid, but we're seeing a fracturing of right-wing media. we're seeing silos. those steve bannon loyalists have made their way over to news next. they have made their way over to oan and whatever the next fringe of the fringe of the fringe right-wing network is. i don't think it's going to impact fox news. we certainly have learned this week that they are all hypocrites. >> at a minimum. so, carlos, she is now in the fray for the ron desantis run i will. thank both of you. lucy, you've entered into the fray. we have things going with -- whether ron ron desantis it's going or not. >> gotta make a bet. get a cuban coffee -- and he's got at least as big an ego us on ultra. >> my thanks to the saturday morning power panel, lucy caldwell, former congressman, carlos curbelo. thank you so much. and as the race for 2024 kicks off, special counsel jack smith sets his sights on trump's lawyers, like rudy giuliani. are we closer to a trump indictme

>> first of, all the credit to molly for braving cpac this year. i was saying right before the segment that the last time was in 2020. i actually sat with molly as she buried and patiently set to. asked for trump, whether trump would be indicted, i think i'm not the first person to say this. an indictment almost assures that he will stay in. this is how this guy operates. he is victim, victim, victim. he's telling his colt that he's fighting the good fight, that he is this political victim and warrior. will he stay in if he is though he may be on the the american people, we saw from cpac that he is very much in with his base. it's maga, maga, maga. >> molly, you had trump last night waxing poetically for about two hours. he was spewing out a whole lot of stuff. in the course of the, it's not only mentioning any of the possibilities of 2024 contenders. someone take that as avoidance. others would take that as just ignoring. how do you assess any pressure at all but he might feel from competition which might enter this race and how he would handle it

the cpac still matter?, and it being mostly a trump supported event, it does tell us that maybe, and i'm being an optimist year. but maybe we're seeing the light that we need to move on, move beyond donald trump. and that's my hope would cpac this year. but again, like most people at home, they're not paying attention to what's happening at cpac. and that's a good thing. we need to move forward and move on this fringe of the party. >> michael? >> cpac still matters for the far-right. i think no moderate republican is paying attention to what's happening this week. but the far-right is essentially turning cpac into one very large trump rally. so it matters for than it but in the grand scheme of whether cpac helps decide the republican candidate, it's irrelevant. >> well, i think that clearly we're going to see later former president trump and what he needs to say and i'm sure too many of us it will not matter. we're looking at it live right now to keep the stage and clapping for himself although he's probabl

then it became the party under donald trump and no cpac -- now cpac has gone from centrist populism to wacky populism what's new is that a candidate used to be able to go to club for growth or cpac and these were all different wings of the party. now you've got to go to one or the other. if you go to one, you are seen as an opponent of the party. you are either on the establishment team or the populist team, but you can't be on both. >> what does it say that nikki haley is going to both? >> she's going to try, but she's going to wind up on the establishment team. >> we are going to see donald trump and nikki haley. if you go to that room, who are you speaking to? >> there's a reason donald trump is going there. those are his people. those are his ride or die's for lack of a better description. it would be a waste of time for mike pence or ron desantis to go there, anyone who wants to be a serious challenger to donald trump. look at the folks that we saw speaking on camera about what they were concerned about. not foreign policy. not economic policy. i would go back to state of the unio

. >> cpac has been a love fest.if you're sensing less enthusiasm or maybe the better question is a concern about the number of high profile no shows? >> reporter: you're right, chris, the buzz around cpac this year is less about what's happening on the stage behind me and more about who is not taking the stage. senators ted cruz and j.d. vance were just up there. they did receive an enthusiastic response from the audience. as i have been talking to folks attending here, the enthusiasm is there but they are missing certain figures, and it's not the party leadership. it's not necessarily the mitch mcconnells, the kevin mccarthys of the parties, as it is one name in particular, and that is florida governor ron desantis. a lot of folks were hoping he was going to show up. some hoping he'll make a last minute appearance. the headliner is donald trump. folks excited to see him speak. it's interesting when you talk to the attendees, they really have been split on the trump versus desantis front. they're excited about both

first with mark meredith, he's at cpac in national harbor, maryland.ey, mark. >> gillian, good afternoon to you. just a few moments ago we saw the former u.n. ambassador nikki haley receive a pretty warm welcome from the cpac crowd, a standing ovation as she came on the stage, i did not hear any boos, they were receptive to her remarks. interesting to see if it lasts as we get later on into the primary season. haley kept her speech focused on this type of crowd she's geared towards conservatives, and similar to the speech in the campaign launch a few weeks ago. she's been making stops at battleground stops, and grassroots conservatives, people can make all the difference generating buzz in the battleground states. most of the people we have spotted are die hard trump supporters, telling us they are still out here for him on a daily basis. and caught up with some vendors and what's selling, idea of where the 2024 race stands today. >> it's -- i have desantis next most popular but 50-1 trump merchandise over desantis. and those you have to realize, those

well received at cpac.r initial tariffs, initial crackdowns on china, that was condemned by many in congress, many in his own party. it is now a base case in washington as we talked about almost every week. there's a consensus in congress about cracking down on china. there is a bipartisan select committee investigating chinese human rights abuses, business practices. president biden himself kept a lot of president trump's tariffs on china. what is fascinating about this evolution about chinese thinking, thinking on china in washington, d.c., is president trump's positions, which initially were very much to the extreme, are almost embraced now by everyone. as he is ratcheting up the pressure and rhetoric, we'll see if others try to follow. >> tension between the two nations only soaring. nick, "axios" has reporting on how historically high invasion has help drive credit card debt to a record high of almost $1 trillion. what are the ramifications of that for the u.s. economy? >> there is a big undercurrent a

>> [laughter] what better place to celebrate than cpac. but these are the states, and this is reality. and donald trump will be here at 5:30 eastern tonight, so we'll be here into the evening hours. but cpac, over the last several years, it's a conservative annual gathering, but it's largely julie bin more like the trump act. you're a trump show. a year in which potentially other republicans are considering getting into the race, there's a lot more at stake, yet, as you're about to see, there's still very much of a pro trump crowd here in attendance, yet again, take a look. >> donald trump's stronghold on the conservative movement, unclear this weekend. >> if you're tired of losing, put your trust in a new generation. i'm here to ask for your vote. >> republican presidential candidate, nikki haley, appearing on friday in front of a very pro trump crowd. >> cpac, the annual concert avoid gathering, increasingly a base of support for trump. >> this is trump won. >> when you got in 2024? >> trump, trump again. >> why we said cpac? >> donald t

look, this was a shrunken cpac, low energy cpac, but it was a maga fied cpac. it was a trump rally.there and big surprise he won the straw poll. it is easy to make fun of this clown show and the way it becomes more and more of a circus. but i also think that we need to remember that this is a -- may be a circus, but it poses a real danger and a threat. you know, we have this debate in the country, well, who is the real republican party? is it the normies or the crazies? what we saw at cpac with the extremists, with the straw poll win for kari lake, with my pillow guy speaking, this is what you get with another trump presidency. you don't get the policy oriented, normal republican. you may not even get trump 1.0 again. this is a pure magafied trump electorate. yes, it was shrunken and low energy, but as you point out, donald trump right now is still leading in the polls and has to be considered a very strong favorite to win the nomination of the republican party again. i hope that people are not engaging in the wish casting of thinking that you might not have that in the white house

i hope you're having a wonderful time at cpac this week.'m very pleased to be able to sit here with these wonderful gentlemen that all represent different religious backgrounds, but are all serving one god we all love so much and rely on. the name of my show is not about us because it is about our god. it is my pleasure to get to introduce these wonderful gentlemen. i will start with rabbi shlomo. i want you to know that last year when we went to the cpac in israel, it is a wonderful place to go. when we went there i met a partner of his who introduced me to the rabbi. it has been a growing relationship between cpac and israel and they are working with us as well. welcome rabbi shlomo. next we have neil hudson who was the cowriter on the book the dessa craters. if you have not read it, please read it. they really hit the nail on the head with what the desecrators are about and what we need to do to make things better in this country. of course, jack brewer was a football player. go ahead. you can let him know how much you appreciate what he

it's a different cpac now. trump has a lot of people in that room now, but some of these speeches earlier on in the conference had me thinking whether cpac should be held at the holiday inn in crystal city. >> jim, it's definitely a different cpac than it was when i used to go years and years ago. i mean, the sort of intellectualism that once upon a time defined the republican party because of individuals like karl rove politically speaking or intellectuals as far as the ideological -- meanings, if you will, of what it means to be a conservative, like national review. rich lowery. those guys aren't really activists and participants in the modern day republican party. there's this question, right, jim, on what does it mean to be a conservative over the next four years. who's going to be the individual or individuals to take that mantel and the charge of defining what conservative policies and positions will be as far as legislation goes. and i don't think the party has quite figured that out. the cpac has had ma

desantis did not attend cpac. he has yet to announce his presidential run. >> either presidential candidate for republican? >> he could be, if you want to be. >> why should the folks not turn to him if he makes the case, that is a new generation? >> i've done something no one else has been able to do. >> they conference here, filled with trump allies, including former brazilian president, hired bolsonaro. bolsonaro made unsubstantiated claims of a stolen election in his home country. his supporters attacked the capitol in january. he gave us his first on camera interview with the u.s. tv outlet since losing his reelection bid. >> would you urge, the others around the world, to resist the election denialism we have seen play out in america and brazil? [speaking non-english] >> translator: what we want is transparency, he said. we want to respect, the will of the people. >> former president trump also affirmed last night he would not drop out of the presidential race, in a scenario where he were to be indicted, in a

that is what cpac is about this year. cpac's already been crawling towards the spheres.fight a good fight on capitol hill for these people out in flyover country, or on the coast, what have you, it is to go right for their pocketbooks and continue fueling the rhetoric and amping up every single argument that they can make so that their personality shines there, and they can get more money to build this celebrity from congress. it is done with the roots of victimhood, and it's sick. it's also nonsensical, totally nonsensical! >> well yeah, they nonsensical part of that is a whole other on the conversation. kelly, rita puts her finger on a very important element. -- there's also part of this movement that's belittling its base and fearmongering. what role does that type of aggressive rhetoric play in actual acts of violence. here's the bottom line. does, or at some point, does the speaker hold the responsibility for that? >> you know, to some extent i would say yes. the violent sort of racist, and sometimes vapid rhetoric that comes out of greene's mouth is disturbing. and

attacks coming out of cpac. i know that nikki haley was heckled for instance, last night, after her remarks, saying we love trump, axios is reporting that the former president is going to blast bush republicans in his speech. is that kind 6 divisive rhetoric good for the g.o.p.? >> well, it's going to alienate and put some people on one side, some on the other. look, the goal is to bring america together, to make it maintain that it's the greatest country the world has ever known. it's like a family, you're always going to have rifts and splits, but in the end we'll come together. doesn't matter who you support in the primary, it's the general that counts and you know, the conservative policies on both sides, i mean, club for growth has their pick and i think it's politically, it's a poor thing to do to have duelling events like this. it shows the division. you know, if you wanted to do something, have them on different weekends, maybe there's an ulterior motive there, but as for me, i'm exactly where i need to

from australia where cpac has events. from hungary. where cpac had its first inaugural events.re people here from france, spain, italy and from all over the world and this annual conference of cpac has now become for the entire negative moment across the free world, -- this is now the epicenter and it is an amazing tribute to matt and mercedes to have achieved that. it is. [cheers and applause] now, not for the first time in my life, i find myself today in a bit of trouble. with the u.k. authorities. [laughter] you see, a story has broken overnight. a lot of whatsapp messages have been leaked between the prime minister, senior officials who were overseeing lockdowns. mask mandates. vaccine mandates. the people that took charge of our country. the story that has broken overnight, here it is -- i went to tulsa in the summer of 2020 for donald trump's first rally on the campaign tour. i did that because i am a friend of his. i did that because i believe in him. i did that because i think he's just about the bravest man i've ever met in my entire life . [applause] trouble was, comi

joining me from cpac in maryland, vaughn hillyard. vaughn, talk to me about what is you're seeing there. >> the give you an idea here, this is a crowd upon mention of mitch mcconnell's name here give a robust food here. donald trump's onstage as we speak. he is capping off the weekend at cpac, in which you have seen a list of allies of his take the stage. notably, look at this afternoon, he had lowered boebert, mike rydal and jair bolsonaro, the first american tv interview. i just caught up with him a few moments ago. you will recall on losing his election in brazil, he spewed election conspiracies, not unlike that of donald trump. ultimately, in early january, about two months ago, supporters of his descended on the capital, images that closely reflected that of what americans watched unfold in washington, d.c. on january six. he is now under investigation by the brazil supreme court. i asked him if he will return to brazil. he has been living in florida since leaving brazil. he told me he won't return to present this month and will,

it is why i am here at cpac.t is why now more than ever free and independent voices are so valuable. it is why i have a new show on rumble where facts come first and news is done right. they cannot censor as. -- they cannot censor us. that is why i am so deeply proud to introduce my next incredible speaker who shows no fear, who stands up to the left-wing every single day, who is america first always and who stand shoulder to shoulder with all of us in our quest to take this country forward, take this country on the road to prosperity, and to take this country to a place where we can and we well make america great again. here now, the son of the 45th and i think 47th president of the united states, donald trump, jr. >> ladies and gentlemen, executive vice president of the trump organization and host of "triggered with don jr." on rumble, please welcome donald trump jr.. donald: what is going on, cpac? i don't know. this feels like maga country. a little surprise for all of you. check under your seats. if there ha

cpac will be her big safe space among a bunch of crazies. to your point, i think there's this question, this real pressing question, it is true that all the other presidential candidates are skipping this. they're going to the more establishment club for growth retreat. and so people are saying, well, maybe cpac doesn't have the luster. that might actually still be where exactly the heart beat of the parfy and the heart beat of the movement is. and if we got one thing wrong in '16, i say this collectively as a nation, we underestimated donald trump could go straight to the crazy, ignore the establishment and become president. i don't know that we should take that bet again this cycle. >> you're absolutely right. you think about it, mitt romney, we're both old enough to remember mitt romney in 2016, he wasn't invited to cpac because he voted for impeachment -- 2020 i mean. 2020 he literally was disinvited and actually people -- they feared for his personal safety in 2016. it was trump he cancelled. i'm not going, right? and said i don't want

i think sometimes cpac is over overstated.o be a good place to hear where lots of different pieces of the conservative movement were thinking about things, have those inside the tent debates, but now it is about donald trump so i don't blame ron desantis f for going. >>>> okay, thank youou. >>> the smell of burning rubber lingering for days in a a villa one israeli leader said needs to be erased. now it is the center of conflict. and cnn is there up next. ise your rate plan. so you can keep your focus on toe-turns and making sure the sauce is extra spicy. at t-mobile, there are no small businesses. ♪ time to protect your vehichle from winters wrath of course the hot sun can be tough on vehicles too time to protect your vehichle you need weathertech all year round! come on, protect your investment laser asured floorliners and cargoliner will shield the carpetin from sand and snow for your interior, there's seat protector and sunshade plus, mudflaps and bumpstep for the exterior order american made products at weathertech.com su

when is your take away from cpac? what does it say about where the gop is right now and where it is heading next year in 2024? >> cpac is the donald trump show and i think it says that he is still the leader of the republican party, we're definitely seeing more pushback from national republicans who say it is time to move forward. when i am i talking to voters on the ground, the republican primary voters are people who will show up and vote not in a general presidential election, but a separate election. they are like donald trump. i think we are seeing a lot of people give it a shot, trying to find a different path for the republican party. but right now, trump is still the leader. >> tell me, eliza, was it just on the broadcast earlier that the 62% that he won in the straw poll, given the uniform approach and it was really the trump show, there was not that good for donald trump given the big picture? do you agree? >> he did not get 100% that is a pretty big gap between the former president and his top rival ron des

there are some notable absences from cpac. neither is mike pence or the person many believe could pose the toughest challenge to trump in the presidential primary, florida governor ron desantis. joining us from the convention in national harbor, maryland, is nbc's vaughn hillyard. busy behind you. you've been chatting with people, we saw a little bit of your conversation with sarah palin who have you been talking to, what have they been saying? >> reporter: right. this is an active scene here. you got marjorie taylor greene who i just talked to here in the hallways of cpac, matt gaetz is on stage, you have lauren boebert here later, kari lake, nikki haley, mike pompeo, a lot of speakers back to back to back. i want to take you to see what cpac looks like from our viewpoint. take a listen. >> we are at the 2023 cpac! yes! >> reporter: this place, cpac used to be conservatives weekend out. it was annual gathering for the who's who of across the republican party. >> the conservative movement is alive and well. >> reporter: george

thank you very much, cpac you are the best. [cheering] ♪

he is the final speaker at this year's cpac event. as you mentioned there are notable names missing, including florida governor ron desantis. he decide today skip the conference. he's spoken to it in the past. i would say we've seen a smaller turnout this year compared to the last two years. this is the first time it was in maryland since it was in florida during the pandemic. organizers say they're with the turnout and former ambassador nikki haley, she was here yesterday and received a standing ovation as she went to address the crowd. she said she wanted to make sure that voters were embracing a new generation of leaders. take a listen. >> i'm running for president to stop america's downward spiral towards socialism and end the self-loathing that has taken over our country. i'm running for president to renew an american that's strong and proud, not weak and woke. >> on friday, we also heard from entrepreneur and presidential hopeful ramswami and that he's ready to run on an america first platform and to abolish the fbi if elected.

jon: meredith at the cpac conference in meredith wisconsin.ant to bring in washington times opinion editor and fox news contributor, charlie hurt you hurt the former president and his speech, anything surprise you? >> it's interesting so much of the major themes are exactly what we have heard from president trump, the america first theme, loud and clear the last two hours but lucky for him, the current biden administration gives them lots of new material to work with and all of the new stuff we heard is the stuff that joe biden has managed to do and makes a lot of strong points. i think it will resonate with people not just conservatives and people are already inclined to like trump but beyond those orders, when he talks about how the biden administration bungled afghanistan and he talks about how the biden administration managed to make china and russia bosom buddies as he calls them and is managed to get free reign over the world, those are themes that are going to appeal a great deal to a lot of people and talking about domestically, whethe

some argue it's not very republican. >> cpac is a business. cpac is good for business. trump or in the form of marjorie taylor greene or matt gaetz. so this is a conference that over its years has followed where the money is, where the excitement is. the republican party and what he used to stand for is scrambled by a lot of other people. are they pro defense? not in the way they used to be. are they pro business, not if they can pick a fight with a business for being woke. so it's just a different party, at least in this area. i think some of the people who aren't there would like it to be the party that they remember. it's not -- i think the primary will help decide that. >> even elected leadership in the congress used to i awe tend these events. hitch mitch is vilified at this event yesterday. rick scott challenged him for the leadership. after the elections went wrong for the republicans. but he was touting his challenge to mitch mcconnell. he got a huge round of applause for doing that. the speaker of the house, the two most powerful in the house, the elected leade

one thing to look out for is the straw poll that cpac does.ator of who the gop is usually going to pick. they choose some oddball candidates sometimes, but donald trump clearly has the whole stage to himself. if he doesn't do very well in that, which you would think he would, it'd be a bad sign. ron desantis nipping at his heels in national polls, not going to be there. that is an interesting development and probably speaks to how ron desantis views this race and donald trump's standing in cpac. curious to see what the reception is and how much he establishes dominance on this thin sliver of the republican base. >> let's talk about desantis a minute. he, of course, has not declared his candidacy yet. he is on book tour now, though, and hitting some of the early primary states while doing so. he has signalled there's not much he can do while the florida legislative session is still in place. there is also a law in florida that prevents a current office holder to seek higher office, so he'd have to get that changed. i'm sure the republicans ther

vance, live from cpac. there we go. have got this is going to be fun for everyone listening later. you guys have a vote today. >> yep. >> you both have to go back and we have decided to make it work. jd will be on with us as well. you guys have really good jobs but i have learned you have no idea what your schedule is. how is it possible in government? you got the joke. i like that. >> it's a bizarre thing in the senate. no control over your schedule. the majority leader decides when to call about. look, chuck schumer is really bad at it. you have literally no idea what's happening. he will come in, decide to have a go, decide maybe not to. thursday, typically we fly in monday mornings, fly home thursday nights. but we don't know if we are home or not. i remember when my girls were little i would call home and they would say what daddy are you going to be home tonight and i would say i have no idea. actually, caroline referred to mitch mcconnell for years as that mean man. because she would say, she would ask daddy are

>> yes it was a bad here for cpac. been, stephanie, but when i was a republican. i was not good enough of a republican to make it to cpac. we'll break down everything that you have just heard. because it's a reflection of today's republican party. those are very dangerous insurrectionists views. it reminds us that january six was not too long ago, when you hear matt gates talk about dismantling the government, talking about the government, and then you moved to this woke culture war agenda that is dangerous. this is a dangerous snapshot of the republican party. but the road to the nomination goes through this crowd. this was the crowd that was underestimated in 2016, as there is no way that they could control the party. but they did. and they do. >> but does it? because, that rodeo is showing up in maryland, and matt gates, and donald trump jr., and his girlfriend. ron desantis is raising huge donor daughters from the richest of the richest republicans down in palm beach florida, donald trump's adopted hometown. >> yes

michael cpac has largely been remade in the image of donald trump. he was the headliner this year along with several other republicans that have pushed election conspiracies and election lies, other french characters that were there. but, you have reported that donald trump's campaign really has the strategy to boost his standing among delegates heading into the nominating convention next summer. >> yes. i think we are entering a very different cycle than what we were used to the last three times for republicans. normally at this point, when you do not have a reelect you are saying it is a wide-open field and nobody knows what will happen. it will all be crazy. you have real giant power centers now in the republican party had a pretty small field relatively. it's not 20 people running for president. it is maybe eight, maybe nine, maybe seven. we are not sure yet. within that, donald trump looms in or mostly. not only does he have cpac basically under his control, this used to be a forum for all conservatives to come fight with each other. he has a th

one after another, at cpac, serving up red meat. the tone is now indistinguishable from one of trump's campaign rallies. in a set of talk for a economic solutions to help american lives, cpac mainly focus on a politics of division. airing their grievances. >> wokeness is a virus more dangerous than any pandemic, hands down. this is our mission, let's save our country from weakness, and wokeness. >> the other side is crazy. now, americans do not deserve to be governed by deeply weird, nauseous lee work people. who hates george jefferson, thomas, washington abraham lincoln, doctors use, and mr. potato head. [laughter] who hyperventilate on their yoga mats if you use the wrong pronoun. >> it's a new disturbing ideology that tells the most incredible lie. that children can actually change their gender. before they've even grown up. >> cpac also serving as a who's who of election denialism. featuring some of the most prominent -- of donald trump's lies of a stolen election. whether it's attacking lgbtq plus youth, reproductive freedom, f

looks to me like cpac is looking backwards not forwards. we will get the highlights after this. ♪ municipal bonds don't usually get the media coverage the stock market does. in fact, most people don't find them all that exciting. but, if you're looking for the potential for consistent income that's federally tax-free, now is an excellent time to consider municipal bonds from hennion & walsh. if you have at least 10,000 dollars to invest, call and talk with one of our bond specialists at 1-800-217-3217. we'll send you our exclusive bond guide, free. with details about how bonds can be an important part of your portfolio. hennion & walsh has specialized in fixed income and growth solutions for 30 years, and offers high-quality municipal bonds from across the country. they provide the potential for regular income... are federally tax-free... and have historically low risk. call today to request your free bond guide. 1-800-217-3217. that's 1-800-217-3217. stuart: all right, where is this market going when the bell opens trading? it's going up a

cpac reagan dinner. was very flattered. i did not realize how big of a deal this is i'm holding on so you can see my nerves. apparently it's a very big deal to be speaking here is a keynote. i want to thank you for inviting me here tonight, it's an opportunity. i didn't knowow big of a deal tonight was until i told my staff about it. i said hey listen, guys i'm going to be speaking at this big event and they almost fell over they said can -- are you sure you can handle that, that's a really big deal. and i fully of nerves tonight. ice -- i haven't even hit my two year markein politics. which kind of explains my relationship with the fake news. i'm from the terrible news, i'm working on it, we have this relationship. i'm not a politician, i'm a citizen, i'm an american like the rest of you. i used to joke that when i was on the campaign trail they would say you're not a politician you don't have political experience i said, that's thfirst thing on my resume, i'm not a politician. i'm in american i'm a mom

>> a couple things going on with cpac.ntroversy about the head of the american conservative union which puts on cpac, allegations, there's allegations against him of sexual harassment and so perhaps some figures are avoiding that whole situation. but basically the bigger picture here is the divide inside the republican party. we should mention that there are a couple of candidates, nikki haley and vivek are trying to unite by appearing at both. both at cpac and the club for growth in palm beach. >> and pompeo and youngkin were both invited but not attending, appreciate it. >> john: new at 2:00, the alec murdaugh trial in a lunch break. the charge to the jury expected soon. which side had the stronger case. and tiktok says it will limit screen time for some youngest users but is it lip service to appease critics. the fcc commissioner will join us on that. congressman mike waltz on the china threat, retired fbi nicole parker, and talk to the attorney of the sons of alec murdaugh's former housekeeper. their mother died after

and cpac, even though they like to talk about that it's a diminished cpac, is still where the energy,re the enthusiasm rests within the largest voting block of the republican party. and that is a room that belongs to trump. and the problem that i think the republican party's facing is they want to separate who's at cpac and the people that are cpac from the rest of the republican party. well, who is the rest of the republican party? let's look at republican leadership in congress. kevin mccarthy, marjorie taylor greene, matt gaetz. so many of the people that genuflect at the article of donald trump. there's no difference there. yes, this is one of the biggest assets that joe biden and the democrats have going into the 2024 election because they're running against a party that is doubling down on failure. the maga agenda failed in 2018, 2020, 2022. so more people to them. keep going. >> and alice, let's talk about these candidates. nikki haley, mike pompeo, i mean, they both spoke at this conference. pompeo tried to take kind of a veiled jab at trump. i mean, it was not like full of se

in fact, he just endorsed him on the eve of cpac.d trump is worth his salt, stephanie, and we have not seen that he is yet. since he announced his campaign. he will go right at rhonda status tomorrow. this is the biggest opportunity that donald trump has had to pay it ron desantis as a public enough republican establishment. and have his message to mcgahn nation. >> you just hit my next question right? first, you said jeb bush just endorsed him. and then wow, i remember, i remember those republican debates. i remember jeb bush standing a few spots down from donald trump. and melting like an ice cream cone in the sun when donald trump took him apart! >> that is right. jeb bush, look, a lot of people have a lot of respect for him. i certainly do. i understand that there are critics of his. but he does not represent today's republican party. and he does not endorse what ron desantis wants. so if you are donald trump, and you have the platform at cpac this weekend. what do you hit him on? you hit him on closing up with establishment repu

. >>> plus, what is happening behind the scenes at cpac. why some of donald trump's own supporters are saying they're ready to move on: what walgreens just decided that will further restrict a woman's right to choose in a post roe america. we'll be right back. n a post roa we'll be right back. switch your car insurance to progressive, and you could save hundreds. -feel better now? -not really. switch to progressive, and you could save hundreds. think he's posting about all that ancient roman coinage? no. he's making real-time money moves with merrill. so no matter what the market's doing, he's ready. and that's... how you collect coins. your money never stops working for you with merrill, a bank of america company. >>> welcome back, alec murdaugh was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. returned a unanimous guilty verdict in just three hours for the murder of his wife maggie and son paul. nbc's craig melvin sat down with the defense team following today's sentencing hearing, and he asked them about