Former US Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will not attend next month’s Conservative Political Action Conference, a decision that distances the two potential 2024 Republican presidential candidates from one of the most ultra-conservative political forums in the United States.
ABC has confirmed with a spokesman for the CPAC that neither candidate is currently on the list of participants for the forum, which will be held from March 1 to 4. In previous years, the CPAC had essentially become a spectacle to the greater glory of former president Donald Trump.
In addition, the meeting is marred by an allegation of sexual abuse against the CPAC’s president, Matt Schlapp. An aide to former Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker has accused Schlapp of “caressing his crotch” without his consent during a meeting before the November legislative elections.
In a statement issued by his attorneys, Schlapp has denied that such an event occurred.
Trump will speak at the event, along with former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, who has also confirmed her candidacy. They will be joined by other ultra-conservative members of the party, including Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
