--- title: Trump Poised to Skip CPAC For First Time in a Decade description: President Trump is poised to skip the Conservative Political Action Conference, a White House official tells TIME, breaking an annual tradition canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/03/23/trump-poised-to-skip-cpac-for-first-time-in-a-decade/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-03-23T15:52:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-23T20:43:10.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Poised to Skip CPAC For First Time in a Decade og:description: President Donald Trump is poised to skip the Conservative Political Action Conference this week, breaking with an annual tradition that has helped define his political rise and shaped the conservative movement. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/03/23/trump-poised-to-skip-cpac-for-first-time-in-a-decade/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2aead345c824115a/69c155b03c8347c31a0c7ce9/GettyImages-2201346153.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2201346153.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Poised to Skip CPAC For First Time in a Decade twitter:description: President Donald Trump is poised to skip the Conservative Political Action Conference this week, breaking with an annual tradition that has helped define his political rise and shaped the conservative movement. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2aead345c824115a/69c155b03c8347c31a0c7ce9/GettyImages-2201346153.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Poised to Skip CPAC For First Time in a Decade  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Mar 23, 2026 8:43 PM UTCPublished: Mar 23, 2026 3:52 PM UTC  President Donald Trump is seen dancing on stage after speaking at last year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on February 22, 2025 President Donald Trump is seen dancing on stage after speaking at last year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on February 22, 2025Win McNamee—Getty Images  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Mar 23, 2026 8:43 PM UTCPublished: Mar 23, 2026 3:52 PM UTC President Donald Trump is poised to skip the [Conservative Political Action Conference](https://time.com/7260570/cpac-trump-pardon-jan-6/) this week, breaking with an annual tradition that has helped define his political rise and [cement his hold](https://time.com/7260107/ukraine-war-jd-vance-cpac/) over the modern conservative movement. A White House official tells TIME that the President has no travel plans to attend this year’s CPAC, which begins Thursday in Texas, though cautioned that his schedule could change at the last minute. Neither the [conference organizers](https://www.cpac.org/) nor the White House responded to requests for comment. If Trump does not appear, it would mark the first time in a decade that he has skipped the annual event. In2016, he [bowed out](https://time.com/4248043/donald-trump-controversial-cpac-speech-cancel/) to continue campaigning during a fractious Republican primary. Since then, he has been a fixture at the conference, using the stage to sharpen political attacks, [rally supporters](https://time.com/5172792/donald-trump-cpac-speech-campaign/) and, at times, [redefine](https://time.com/6260388/trump-cpac-cities-crime-washington/) the ideological contours of the Republican Party. The conference is one of the most prominent gatherings of conservative activists, elected officials, and media figures in the country. Over the years, Trump transformed it from a traditional conservative forum into a showcase for his brand of politics, turning his speeches into must-watch events for allies and critics alike. Last year, he used his speech to revel in his return to power, celebrating efforts to reshape the federal government and portraying his presidency as a turning point in a broader global movement against liberal institutions. Earlier appearances often served as testing grounds for campaign messages, including his vows to punish perceived enemies and his [debunked claims](https://time.com/6112488/trump-2020-election-republicans/) that the 2020 election was stolen from him. This year’s conference will be held in Grapevine, Texas, near Dallas—a departure from its more typical perch in the Washington area, and comes at a politically delicate moment in Trump’s presidency. The United States is approaching one month since it joined Israel in launching a military conflict with Iran that has upended the Middle East and sent the price of oil soaring. The war has exposed fissures within the Republican Party, pitting more hawkish voices against an ascendant isolationist wing that has long defined Trump’s “America First” message. The tensions spilled into public view this week when [Joe Kent](https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/joe-kent-s-resignation-over-iran-may-be-just-the-beginning/), a senior administration official who Trump nominated to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned in protest of the Administration’s actions in Iran. **Read more:** [How Trump and Vance Differed on Iran War](https://time.com/article/2026/03/10/how-trump-and-vance-differed-on-iran-war/) Yet polling suggests that Trump’s standing among his most devoted supporters remains strong. Seventy percent of self-identified MAGA voters supported his strikes on Iran, according to a new [Politico poll](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/20/poll-trump-maga-iran-war-support-00836556?%5Fsp%5Fpass%5Fconsent=true). “As I’ve said repeatedly, Americans trust President Trump as their Commander-in-Chief and support his efforts to eliminate terrorist threats and keep us safe,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to the poll. “There is no ‘MAGA fracturing,’ no matter how many times the media tries to claim otherwise.” That loyalty is likely to be on display at CPAC, which begins Thursday and ends Saturday, the same day millions of Americans are expected to participate in another national “No Kings” day of protest against Trump. On Friday, Trump is set to speak at Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative conference in Miami, after Riyadh boosted its commitment to investment in the United States to $1 trillion last year. This year’s CPAC speeches come in the context of Republicans hoping to retain control of the House and Senate in this November’s midterm elections, in which Texas, this year's CPAC host, has emerged as a potential battleground. Trump has not yet endorsed a candidate in the May 26 Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate—an [increasingly ugly race](https://time.com/7382436/texas-senate-primary-results-democratic-talarico-crockett-republican-cornyn-paxton/) between Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is scheduled to speak at CPAC. Even without the President, the conference is still set to feature a roster of administration officials and allies, including Border Czar Tom Homan, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, Drug Czar Sara Carter, and special envoy Richard Grenell. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/23/trump-poised-to-skip-cpac-for-first-time-in-a-decade/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/23/trump-poised-to-skip-cpac-for-first-time-in-a-decade/"},"headline":"Trump Poised to Skip CPAC For First Time in a Decade","datePublished":"2026-03-23T15:52:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-23T20:43:10.000Z","description":"Since 2017, Trump's CPAC speeches have helped cement his hold on the modern conservative movement","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/23/trump-poised-to-skip-cpac-for-first-time-in-a-decade/","keywords":["Donald Trump","republicans"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2aead345c824115a/69c155b03c8347c31a0c7ce9/GettyImages-2201346153.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2aead345c824115a/69c155b03c8347c31a0c7ce9/GettyImages-2201346153.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-2201346153.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Win McNamee—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/23/trump-poised-to-skip-cpac-for-first-time-in-a-decade/","name":"Trump Poised to Skip CPAC For First Time in a Decade"}}]}] ```