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It\u2019s that time of the year again\u2014when thousands of conservative politicians, journalists, and media personalities typically do a victory lap with their MAGA hats<\/a> on. But this time around, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference<\/a> (CPAC) looks a little different. America\u2019s oldest conservative political conference is missing the big boss\u2014President Donald Trump is skipping the event for the first time in a decade. Major past speakers like Kimberly Guilfoyle\u2014once a CPAC regular\u2014Vice President JD Vance, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio aren\u2019t even scheduled to show face. And while the first day of CPAC still kicked off with a Trump pep rally, many seats within the conference hall remained empty all day<\/a>.<\/p>\n CPAC 2025 was triumphant for Trump: He was riding the high of his win, implementing a shamelessly ambitious (and personal) agenda, and boasting opening acts such as Elon Musk<\/a>, who famously wielded a chainsaw<\/a> while onstage. This time around, his poll numbers are sinking while gas prices are rising. The right is openly divided<\/a> on the war in Iran. Although most MAGA loyalists say they support the war, key members of Trump\u2019s Cabinet\u2014like Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard\u2014have avoided endorsing it outright.<\/p>\n The chasm has only grown as conservative influencers have expressed their disapproval: Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly, and Republican politicians like Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Matt Gaetz have all pushed back<\/a> against Trump\u2019s hawkish agenda.<\/p>\n Still, apprehension didn\u2019t prevent thousands from flocking to Grapevine, Texas, to show their loyalty to the MAGA movement. On day one of CPAC, speakers raved about Trump. Commentator Benny Johnson, Trump administration officials like retiring Border Patrol officer Gregory Bovino and border czar Tom Homan, and former UK prime minister Liz Truss all gushed about the president\u2019s accomplishments. Johnson even attempted to assuage the disquiet within the party by painting the left as the real villain.<\/p>\n \u201cYour enemy is not the people that you have good faith disagreements with inside your movement,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cYour enemy is the Marxists, and they are going to be running against us hard in the midterms and in 2028.\u201d<\/p>\n Only time will tell whether Republicans\u2019 lingering unease dissipates. Or whether their looming questions\u2014about a widening enthusiasm gap with the Democrats, the details of Trump\u2019s mass immigration crackdown, or what\u2019s really in the Epstein files\u2014get answered. Regardless, Vanity Fair<\/em>\u2019s Jack Califano was on the ground to document it all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n