OXON HILL, Md.— Vice President Mike Pence addressed the largest annual gathering of conservatives on Thursday, offering a defense of the Trump agenda and trying to rally activists for the fall elections.
"Your president and I need you to show up," Pence told activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference as he urged them to "defend all that we've accomplished."
"It's been a year of promises made and promises kept," Pence added.
Frequent past attendees such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., are skipping the event, as is Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the libertarian-leaning Republican who once brought large followings of young people to the CPAC halls.
Even Steve Bannon was absent. The ex-White House chief strategist whose falling out with Trump cost him his perch atop the conservative Breitbart website has featured prominently at past gatherings.
Top government officials, Cabinet secretaries, outside allies and conservative media boosters dominate the CPAC agenda, with appearances by Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and White House counsel Don McGahn.
The focus on Trump-ism marks a shift for an event that had long held itself up as a resolute advocate for conservative principles. During the George W. Bush administration, CPAC prominently featured criticism of the president's economic and immigration proposals — particularly sounding the alarm on soaring deficits under his tenure.
There was no such criticism audible Thursday.
Sebastian Gorka, a former White House aide and President Donald Trump booster, explained the conversion onstage, saying that "the GOP is starting to understand that this president was only accidentally the GOP candidate."
"He was the rank outsider, he owed nothing to the swamp," he added of Trump, saying the rest of the party is "riding his coattails."
Check back with Arkansas Online for updates on this developing story and read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.