Donald Trump bails on speech at CPAC

Donald Trump (Photo: Twitter)

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – For most of the 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference, GOP presidential race front-runner Donald Trump has served as a kind of movie villain, a specter which must not be named even though just about every speech seemed to be an implicit critique of the brash billionaire.

But he dramatically unveiled the civil war in the American right by pulling out of a planned Saturday morning speaking slot at CPAC.

In a terse statement, CPAC organizers said they were "very disappointed," warning his decision "sends a clear message to conservatives."

Very disappointed @realDonaldTrump has decided at the last minute to drop out of #CPAC -- his choice sends a clear message to conservatives.

— CPAC (@CPAC) March 4, 2016

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For his part, Trump announced plans to hold a "major rally" in Wichita, Kansas, before Saturday's caucus vote. Trump thanked the CPAC organizers for the opportunity to speak before the conference and expressed hopes of addressing it in the future, "hopefully as president of the United States."

Unfortunately for Trump, the first draft of the press release misspelled both "Wichita" and "Kansas," showing the decision was likely made on the spur of the moment.

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As previously reported, Trump was likely facing a hostile reception at the nation's premiere conservative conference, as a coalition of political operatives and CPAC attendees were planning protests.

William Temple, a tea-party activist often seen at conservative events wearing his trademark colonial garb, announced plans for a disruptive walkout of Trump's planned address, claiming hundreds of people would join.

The Make America Awesome Again PAC, headed by pro-abortion political consultant Liz Mair and formed specifically to oppose Trump, also promised a protest if CPAC did not withdraw Trump's invitation.

Many conservative organizations were also heavily promoting their opposition to Trump at the conference, with National Review prominently displaying a large version of its "Against Trump" cover for attendees to pose with it for pictures.

Trump was also scheduled to speak at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, regarded as one of the worst speaking slots at the conference. Because of security measures taken by the Secret Service, CPAC attendees on Friday already faced long lines and lengthy delays when trying to enter the main room.

For Trump's proposed speech, attendees would need to be in line even earlier than 8:30, an unlikely prospect for youthful spectators at the notoriously rowdy conference.

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Trump would thus likely be facing a half-empty room mostly populated with people opposed to him, an unwelcome image to be sent to the nation on the morning of crucial primary votes in Maine, Kansas, Louisiana and Kentucky.

However, Trump snubbing CPAC also sends a bad message to Republican voters in these states, especially as none of these states is an "open" contest.

Trump will not be able to rely on the Democrat and independent crossovers who have helped propel him to victories in earlier states. Trump thus risks a repeat of Oklahoma, where Ted Cruz was able to win a surprising victory in a closed primary on Super Tuesday.

Trump's CPAC situation is likely to help Cruz, who addressed CPAC Friday afternoon, gather more conservative support.

However, Cruz is also facing his own issues. On Friday morning, the Blaze reported Ted Cruz's new national spokesman, Ron Nehring, hired an illegal immigrant to work for him when Nehring was chairman of the California Republican Party.

Cruz's previous spokesman, Rick Tyler, was dismissed for spreading a deceptive video that allegedly showed Marco Rubio belittling the Bible.

One of Cruz's most loyal surrogates, conservative thought leader Glenn Beck, also was generating unfortunate headlines, in this case for allegedly fantasizing on the air about a stabbing.

On his radio program, Beck condemned other Republican candidates for saying they would support Trump if he wins the nomination. He then went on to say, "If I was close enough and had a knife, the stabbing just wouldn't stop."

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Though Beck has denied the threats were meant for Trump, such comments indicate the kind of reception Trump would have met had he attended CPAC. After all, the man who will deliver the closing remarks at the 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference is none other than Beck himself.