President Trump’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference is under way.
Trump, who is scheduled to speak at 11:30 a.m. EST, has attended the event regularly since 2011, when he again began considering the possibility of running for president.
Known as CPAC, the event is one of the most prominent annual gatherings of conservatives in the country and features speakers from all over the right side of American politics, from pundits, to members of Congress, and even President Trump himself. The event runs from Feb. 27 to March 2 this year.
Since 2012, Trump has only missed a single year, 2016, when he chose to campaign in key states ahead of the 2016 election. Trump spoke at the event in 2017 and 2018 as president.
Vice President Mike Pence spoke on Friday, telling the crowd Trump has “no greater priority than the safety of the American people.”
Pence says President Trump has “no higher priority than the safety of the American people.” #CPAC2019 pic.twitter.com/fmBGjTBCDv
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 1, 2019
Trump is fresh off his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, where no deal on denuclearization on the Korean peninsula was struck.
On the same day as the summit, Democrats called Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen to testify publicly in front of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, during which he called the president a racist, a liar, and a cheat.
On the first full day of speeches, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he plans to process as many conservative judges as possible as Judiciary Committee chairman.
On Friday, White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told CPAC attendees that Trump was still on good terms with Kim.
Read all of the Washington Examiner‘s coverage for CPAC 2019.
