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\u201cThe average age of CPAC attendees now mirrors Congress,\u201d CJ Pearson, the 23-year-old conservative influencer<\/a> and former co-chair of the Republican National Committee\u2019s Youth Advisory Council, told Vanity Fair.<\/em> \u201cWith the survival of the conservative movement predicated upon the next generation, I hope that they figure out a way to turn it around.\u201d<\/p>\n While the administration\u2019s speakers may not have been the most high-profile, this year\u2019s program strongly leaned on international personalities, perhaps a subtle diversion from the bitter infighting playing out at home. The exiled Iranian opposition figure Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi was confirmed to address crowds, alongside a \u201cMAGA vs. Mullah Madness\u201d panel<\/a> featuring victims of the Iranian regime. Poland\u2019s populist President Karol Nawrocki was slated to appear, joined by former disgraced British PM Liz Truss and Eduardo and Fl\u00e1vio, the sons of former Brazil dictator Jair Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran\u2019s Mark Wallace and Senator Ted Cruz, both vocal supporters of the war, rounded out the lineup, proponents for an aggressive international foreign policy that sits increasingly uneasy with the young conservative movement.<\/p>\n Young attendees check their phones at CPAC 2026.<\/p>\n <\/span>Photographer Jack Califano<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Brett Cooper, a 24-year-old conservative commentator with a YouTube show consisting of over 1.6 million subscribers, has recently been notably vocal about the war in Iran, particularly in what she sees as the lack of transparency in the administration’s messaging. When asked why she didn\u2019t attend the conference this year, she said: \u201cIronically, I have no comment because I literally don\u2019t even know what CPAC is.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger Stone, the convicted felon and CPAC veteran, once made a point of appearing<\/a> at the 2021 conference, dancing alongside rapper Forgiato Blow and taking selfies with fans outside. This year, however, even he is over it.<\/p>\n \u201cCPAC was the single most important gathering of conservatives in the country serving as the launching pad for the candidacy of both Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump,\u201d Stone told me via text. Now, he says, the brand has been destroyed. As for his fondest conference memories, Stone was less forthright<\/a>, leaving one to presume that what happens at CPAC stays at CPAC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n