While CPAC reflected a Trump-led conservative movement that is less committed to the war, other meetings voiced opposition.
News Analysis
OXON HILL, Md.—If you wanted to take the temperature at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), you could do a lot worse than talking to Luke Twombly.
Twombly, a 31-year-old consultant who was once communications director for the Republican Party of Texas, was wearing a cowboy hat as he walked past the colorful booths at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center just outside Washington.
“I think people are tired of the Ukraine War,” he told The Epoch Times. He disagreed with the idea that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to reestablish the Soviet Union, instead likening him to a tsar seeking “to influence, basically, Orthodox Slavic countries that were historically in the Russian zone.”
Under President Donald Trump, Twombly said, the United States is refocusing on the Western Hemisphere, where more of its core interests lie.
“America, it’s not [the] global policeman anymore,” Twombly added.
CPAC, held Feb. 19 through 22, took place amidst Ukraine-Russia peace overtures from the Trump administration, including talks between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Trump team also sought to forge a minerals deal with Ukraine ahead of a visit from its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Days later, the deal was in limbo after Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance devolved into a heated argument.
Two nearby conferences, the Principles First Summit and Freedom Conservatism, drew Ukraine hawks concerned about Russian aggression and, in many cases, Trump. Yet, CPAC—the main event for conservatives alongside AmericaFest—revealed a national and international right-of-center world that has grown increasingly skeptical of prolonging the conflict. Trump’s push for peace with Russia met with widespread, though not unqualified, support.
Early speakers helped set the tone. In his Feb. 20 remarks, Vance predicted a lasting peace would soon come, saying it was “in the interest of the American people” and would help cement Trump as a “peace president.”
On Feb. 21, Trump administration diplomat Ric Grenell questioned objections that have been raised to Trump meeting Putin without involving Zelenskyy, saying the Trump team had met with Ukrainians numerous times without Russians present.
“I think the American people are really frustrated with Zelenskyy. I think that there’s a big frustration that he’s not making great choices for peace,” Grenell said.
