For the first time in a decade, President Donald Trump did not attend the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), his absence apparently consumed by the ongoing war in Iran. Without the president to provide closing arguments, the annual gathering of MAGA faithful in Grapevine, Texas, became a stage for airing deep anxieties about the conflict and exposed significant fractures within Trump's movement.
The central tension dominating CPAC discussions was how a president who campaigned on ending wars could find himself considering a ground invasion of Iran, according to a new report in The Guardian. The debate revealed sharp disagreements among prominent figures about the war's trajectory and wisdom.
Erik Prince, former CEO of the Blackwater mercenary group, counseled strongly against escalation. "You will see imagery of burning American warships in the next couple of weeks," he warned, suggesting most people are unprepared for such consequences.
In contrast, former Navy SEAL Jason Redman argued the U.S. cannot stop now that military operations have begun, citing concerns about future conflicts. "I have my first grandchild coming. I don't want my grandchild to have to fight Iran in 20 years," he said.
Trump administration diplomat Ric Grenell took the opposite position from Prince, praising the president's wisdom in entering the war and predicting that within months, Americans would look back and be grateful the Iranian regime was eliminated. Republican former congressman Matt Gaetz offered a more cautious view, warning that a ground invasion would make America "poorer and less safe," though he acknowledged trusting Trump's judgment more than his own.
Steve Bannon, Trump's bombastic former adviser, attempted to unify the fractured audience by urging attendees to set aside their concerns and back the MAGA project regardless. "We have the right policies. We just need the resolve to see it through," he said, dismissing explanations for absent figures as merely being "tied up running wars."
The disagreements at CPAC reflected real political vulnerabilities. Outside the convention center, Trump's approval ratings are at historic lows, and the war is polling poorly. Gas prices have climbed to their highest levels in four years. With November midterms approaching—a time when the party in power historically struggles—Republicans face headwinds. Democrats already demonstrated readiness to capitalize, with their candidate flipping a Florida state house seat that includes Mar-a-Lago.
Significantly, CPAC exposed a generational divide within the conservative movement. Older attendees, including supporters of Iran's former crown prince Reza Pahlavi, embraced the military campaign as religiously ordained or as settling long-standing scores dating to the 1979-1981 Iran hostage crisis. "It's biblical," said 87-year-old Deanna Averett. Others saw economic opportunity in controlling oil resources.
Younger Republicans, however, expressed fear and skepticism. Eighteen-year-old Gary Polakoff worried about a potential draft and predicted the gas price spike would worsen Republicans' already poor midterm prospects. John Christy, 19, sympathized with Iranian people but opposed "forever wars," arguing such conflicts contradict Trump's "America First" agenda. Stephan Norquist, 21, found the Blackwater CEO's argument against escalation more convincing, reasoning that "getting your foot in the door doesn't necessarily mean you should want to go all the way."
Even some Trump supporters expressed unease. Lisa Musket, 60, said she hadn't expected her candidate would "embroil the country in a war" but stated she would trust Trump to navigate it correctly, despite voting for his anti-war platform.