GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — Conservatives are holding one of their largest annual gatherings at a perilous political moment for President Donald Trump and with
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., after attending the casualty return at Dover Air Force Base, Del., for the six crew members of an Air Force refueling aircraft who died when their plane crashed in western Iraq while supporting operations against Iran.
GRAPEVINE, Texas — Conservatives are holding one of their largest annual gatherings at a perilous political moment for President Donald Trump and with open division on the right over the war he launched in Iran. While Trump maintains broad support among conservatives, the war in Iran is more than a wrinkle for activists drawn to his “America First” campaign pledge against getting involved in foreign conflicts. The debate will be a subtext — and likely flare publicly — as thousands of activists, influencers and Republican lawmakers gather at the Conservative Political Action Conference that begins Wednesday outside Dallas. The gathering will be a contrast to the celebratory meeting one year ago where Trump, newly returned to office, vowed to “forge a new and lasting political majority” and Elon Musk wielded a chainsaw to symbolize how the administration was slashing the government workforce and red tape. This year, neither Trump nor Vice President JD Vance has been publicly announced as speaking to the gathering. But among those who are slated to speak are big names in the MAGA movement who have voiced conflicting views on the Iran war. “This is obviously going to be a hot topic,” said John Gizzi, a CPAC veteran and columnist for the conservative media outlet Newsmax, who noted the possibility of greater U.S. involvement over an uncertain length of time.Among the featured speakers scheduled at the four-day event is longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon. Bannon said during his War Room podcast this month that should the war become “a hard slog,” it could cost the GOP conservative voters ahead of the midterms.Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who supports the war, also is on the agenda at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center. “I think President Trump was exactly right to act to protect Americans,” Cruz said last week in a CBS News interview. Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’s scheduled speaking slot is a reminder of the disagreement among some conservatives about the U.S. military alliance with Israel against Iran. Gaetz, host of a show on the conservative One America News Network, has said the U.S. has been too cozy with Israel as popular conservative personalities such as Tucker Carlson have challenged conservatives’ longtime bond with the country, prompting criticism from GOP groups, including pro-Israel Republicans, of antisemitism. Others scheduled to speak include Trump border czar Tom Homan and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who is running for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina.A year after Trump presided over the group’s jubilant conference upon his return to office, he is in a much different place. At war while worries about jobs and household costs linger, his approval is down. His signature domestic policy, aimed at tightening voting rules ahead of November’s midterm elections, has stalled in a Congress his party controls, while the House Republican majority is in jeopardy and the party’s hold on the Senate is less certain than a year ago. Despite the dividing lines, Trump enjoys enduring approval from his party’s right flank. Eighty-six percent of conservatives said they approved of the president’s job performance in a February AP-NORC poll. And while Trump’s supporters remain devoted, some within the most conservative circles say division over Iran could signal trouble for Republicans in November. Texas Rep. Steve Toth, who plans to attend CPAC, suggested Trump’s support remains robust among conservatives, but that Republican messaging on the war could be stronger. “From MAGA people, for the most part, I don’t hear frustration with the president,” said Toth, who beat incumbent Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw in Texas’ March 3 primary. “I don’t know that we’re doing a great job at communicating the full ramifications.”Another stark reminder of the contrast with last year is Texas’s unresolved Senate primary, a particular political headache for Trump. Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton, who is challenging four-term GOP Sen. John Cornyn, not only is attending the event, but has one of the event’s premier speaking roles, the Ronald Reagan Dinner on Friday evening. Cornyn is not attending the Texas conference. Trump said three weeks ago he would soon endorse one of them after Paxton finished narrowly behind Cornyn in the March 3 primary, though neither received a majority to avoid a May 26 runoff. Trump implored whoever didn’t get the endorsement to drop out, writing in a social media post that the bitter contest “cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer.” The deadline for candidates to remove their names from the May 26 runoff ballot passed last week, as Paxton and Cornyn were launching stepped-up attack ads targeting one another.GRAPEVINE, Texas — Conservatives are holding one of their largest annual gatherings at a perilous political moment for President Donald Trump and with open division on the right over the war he launched in Iran. While Trump maintains broad support among conservatives, the war in Iran is more than a wrinkle for activists drawn LOS ANGELES — Rodolfo “Rudy” Acuña, a pioneering political activist, academic and historian who founded one of the first Chicano Studies programs offered by a major U.S. university, has died at 93. Acuña’s landmark 1972 textbook “Occupied America: A History of Chicanos” continues to be taught in schools. He died Monday, said Carmen Ramos NEW YORK — It took less than a minute for a routine landing to spiral into a deadly crash Sunday at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. But the collision between an Air Canada flight and a fire truck crossing the runway was the culmination of a series of events that began much earlier. The Associated Law enforcement officials on Tuesday said they are taking steps to monitor and counter threats to Jewish and Muslim communities nationwide since the onset of war in the Middle East, multiple hate crimes and an attempted terror attack prompted increased security measures at places of worship and investigations into extremist activity. As the FBI conducts WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is preparing to deploy at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days, according to three people with knowledge of the plans. The unit is considered the Army’s emergency response force and can typically be deployed on short notice. The force PORTLAND, Ore. — Jason Jenkins was driving to work before dawn when a bright green streak beamed across the sky. The camera on his dashboard captured the moment at 6:06 a.m. Monday while he was in southwestern Washington state about 20 miles north of Portland, Oregon. Initially he thought it might be WSECU Community Champion: Chrystal Ortega’s mission to feed Spokane Chrystal Ortega's tireless dedication recently earned her the WSECU Community Champions Award and a $1,000 grant to further the mission.When Shawn Tibbitts opened Tibbitts FernHill, he was just trying to survive. The small Tacoma restaurant has since earned culinary awards and praise.Wilcox Family Farms is continuing its cherished holiday tradition of giving back by donating nearly one million eggs to food banks across the South Sound region this season.Matthew Ballantyne has transformed that early awareness into action, embodying the organization's mission:"No Kid Sleeps On The Floor In Our Town."
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