The Media Research Center may not have had much to do with this year’s CPAC, but Newsmax served up more coverage of it. It started early too — more than a month before the actual event — with a Jan. 12 article by the apparently unironically named Charlie McCarthy stating that “The influential Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday endorsed former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.” A Jan. 21 article by Nick Koutsobinas touted how “The chair of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) released a statement Thursday announcing his support of former President Donald Trump for 2024.”
Then came a Jan. 25 article touting how defrocked far-right Catholic bishop Joseph Strickland would be a featured speaker (thus demonstrating that his defrocking was the correct decision given his desire to put politics ahead of his faith). Writer Mark Swanson tried to portray Strickland as a victim, claiming that “Many believe Strickland was relieved of his duties because he took public positions at odds with Francis’ progressive views on life, marriage, and gender.” A Feb. 2 article by Sandy Fitzgerald touted how Trump “will be the keynote speaker” at CPAC.
As the event grew closer, a Feb. 21 article by Jim Thomas cheered how CPAC “has implemented a significant policy change, disallowing credentials for left-wing journalists.” Thomas offered no definition of what a “left-wing journalist” supposedly is — though in context it sure seems a lot like any journalist who accurately reports on what happens at CPAC and isn’t a right-wing cheerleader — but he did uncritically quote CPAC chief Matt Schlapp repeating right-wing tropes about journalists:
Additionally, Schlapp shared an exchange between his wife and a Huffington Post reporter who was denied credentials, expressing satisfaction with what he described as a reaction from “leftist propagandists” who expected preferential treatment as a “real” journalist.
“But as we know what’s happened to these corporate media entities is they’re 100%. If you listen to MSNBC, it’s 100% anti-Trump, anti-American, anti-conservative every moment of every day. They never have any kind of honest treatment of anything,” Schlapp said.
Another article that day by Fran Beyer featured CPAC chief Matt Schlapp gushing that Donald Trump’s speech would be “the biggest story” at the event and that his appearance would break “the Reagan record” of 13 appearances. Beyer also noted that “Schlapp heaped praise on Newsmax.”
Newsmax unsurprisingly lavished its usual multiple-article attention to Trump’s CPAC speech:
- Trump Turns Attention to November in CPAC Speech
- Trump: Biden ‘Surrounded by Some Very Bad Fascists’
- Trump to CPAC: ‘Success Will Be Our Revenge’
All those articles made sure to note that the speech ” aired live on Newsmax and simulcast on the Newsmax2 online streaming platform.”
Meanwhile, Newsmax devoted an article to Tulsi Gabbard’s CPAC thoughts. An article by Koutsobinas fed a bogus narrative Newsmax has been flirting with for months:
A Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll found that a majority said President Joe Biden will not be the next candidate on the Democrat ticket and that former first lady Michelle Obama will be.
In the survey of 1,478 conservatives conducted by McLaughlin & Associates from Wednesday to Saturday, 56% of respondents said they believe Biden will not be his party’s nominee. When asked who would replace him, 47% replied Obama.
Koutsobinas did concede that Obama has said she has no interest in running for president. Newsmax managed to work in some CPAC-related self promotion in an article by Beyer:
Newsmax was voted by the Conservative Political Action Conference the “most trusted” cable news outlet in America — trouncing rival Fox News by a whopping 34 points, according to a straw poll conducted at the annual conference.
CPAC announced the findings of the survey Sunday after four days of meetings in Washington, D.C.
[…]The survey was conducted by McLaughlin & Associates from Wednesday to Saturday — with a total of 1,478 conservatives participating.
Participants appeared to be happy about Newsmax but were less sanguine about Big Tech platforms and their leaders.
Beyer didn’t mention that CPAC barred “left-wing journalists” from covering the event — thus proving Schlapp’s demand for stenography over actual reportering — and it also failed to mention that a non-right-wing outlet that did manage to infiltrate CPAC found that neo-Nazis were talking part.
A March 1 column by Tamar Alexia Fleishman tried to portray CPAC’s hard-right, aggressively pro-Trump turn as a good thing:
It was a very different mood than in 2023. Though, of course, there was cheering for the exciting speakers, the idee fixe throughout was neither panic nor giddiness, but more of thoughtful, steely determination.
Thousands of people present are taking action to support the re-election of President Trump and our traditional American way of life.
After all, this election is not an issue of picking a team to cheer, like a second Super Bowl. There are many contentious issues plaguing this country. CPAC hosted top leaders of the U.S. and around the world to speak to their areas of interest and expertise.
And, of course, there was more gushing over Trump:
Of course, the lure for everyone on the last day of the conference was to see and hear President Trump in a relatively intimate environment. The nearly universal position of attendees was to ensure that 45 becomes 47.
Contrary to how the left portrays him — as merely a personification of his buildings’ signs, selling himself — President Trump immediately introduced his rapt evidence to the names of South American leaders. Years ago, the regular person on the street barely knew where South America is, let alone recognized and listened to their elected officials to learn how our goals may mirror theirs.
Lest anyone miss the importance of this election, Trump forewarned that the “Biden nightmares, the Imposter and Cheats,” will have a decidedly dark future: “November 5 will be their Judgment Day!”
Fleishman didn’t mention the Nazis at CPAC, of course.