After shamelessly fessing up to blatantly flip-flopping on immigration during Thursday night’s Fox News GOP debate, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump suddenly announced that he was backing out of addressing this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday.
Secured with, yet another, round of vows from his rivals pledging their support to the eventual Republican presidential nominee, Trump’s campaign released a statement canceling his CPAC speech in favor of campaigning in Kansas, which votes on Saturday. The Trump campaign statement, released Friday afternoon as the Los Angeles Police Department held a press conference announcing an apparent breakthrough in the decades old OJ Simpson case, misspelled where Trump was campaigning (again), and was widely mocked on Twitter:
"Witchita, Kanasas" pic.twitter.com/MbuhJWuEGV
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) March 4, 2016
In any case, conservatives who were just in an uproar at the mere indication Tea Party Senator Marco Rubio may not be attending CPAC last week, were quick to lash out at Trump’s last minute decision. (The Rubio campaign and CPAC eventually agreed on a schedule):
So @CPAC released a scathing statement against Rubio for maybe missing #CPAC2016 Will they do same for Trump actually missing? @allahpundit
— John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) March 4, 2016
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
While CPAC may only be willing to express its “disappointment” in Trump’s decision, right now, conservatives on Twitter are hardly holding back their hurt at Trump’s apparent dismissal of the conservative movement — after all, Trump has attended the conservative confab numerous times before:
.@marcorubio on Trump/CPAC, per @KilloughCNN: "He doesn’t belong at a conservative gathering. Donald Trump is not a conservative."
— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) March 4, 2016
PREDICTION: not the last time @realdonaldtrump will abandon conservatives
MT"Trump drops out of #CPAC
sends clear message to conservatives"— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) March 4, 2016
Trump's a tough guy. I can speak to a college with a near-rioting leftist mob outside, but he can't face down the insane CPAC gang.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 4, 2016
Fun idea: Have Christie give a surrogate speech at CPAC in place of Trump.
— Jimmy (@JimmyPrinceton) March 4, 2016
But, of course, there remain the faithful:
Trump was right to skip CPAC. The votes are in Kansas not Washington. Why give the anti-trump activists a target
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) March 4, 2016
Hey @CPAC We know you were planning a mass walkout during his speech. It was a trap! https://t.co/i4FVGboXeh
— Donald's Angel (@donaldsangel) March 4, 2016
There is speculation that Trump’s decision was brought on by the threat of a planned protest during his address. The National Review reported this week that a “tricorn-hat-wearing revolutionary” planned a 300-person strong walk-out of Trump’s talk Saturday.
We “are going to get up at one time to go the bathroom,” William Temple said. “We’re not going to put up with him.” In fact, several of the conservative conference speakers are openly hostile to a Trump candidacy:
And the GOP civil war rages on.
