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"...every CPAC attendee who spoke to CNN said they would support Trump if he decides to run in three years."

The focus of this piece is that the vast majority of Republican attendees still support Trump and will continue to do so in the next presidential election.

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The faithful who flocked to the annual conference of conservatives made it clear that their allegiance was to the former president far more than to the Republican Party.

Tommy Zegan, right, with his sculpture of former President Donald Trump, a popular attraction at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday. Credit... Joe Raedle/Getty Images

ORLANDO, Fla. - Tommy Zegan was appalled by the few sculptures of Donald J. Trump in existence - the life-size nude statue that popped up in major cities in America, the golden toilet in London. So in 2018, he got to work.

Mr. Zegan, a Trump supporter who had recently moved to Mexico from the United States, created a six-foot-tall fiberglass mold of the former president and painted it gold. Mr. Zegan's Trump carried a magic wand in his left hand, a reference to Barack Obama's quip in 2016 about Mr. Trump's needing one to bring back manufacturing jobs. The sculpted Trump wore his customary suit jacket and red tie, American flag shorts - and flip-flops - "because technically he should be retired," Mr. Zegan explained, "but he chose to be a servant."

The final product, titled "Trump and His Magic Wand," was among the more popular attractions at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla. On Saturday, attendees flocked to the event's merchandise hall for photos with the golden sculpture, the scene an almost literal rendering of the Republican Party, which continues to reserve its reverence not for ideas or elected officials but for one man.

"It's definitely not an idol," Mr. Zegan insisted. ("I was a youth pastor for 18 years," he noted.) "An idol is something somebody worships and bows down to. This is a sculpture. It's two different things."

The defiantly pro-Trump mood at CPAC represented a culmination of a cycle that began in 2016, when Republican leaders publicly supported Mr. Trump's nomination for president while privately presuming a landslide defeat and subsequent irrelevance. It was a pattern that held firm over the four years that followed, with many lawmakers continuing to indulge the president, all while confident that a breaking point - whether a loss in 2020 or, most recently, the riot at the Capitol by Trump supporters on Jan. 6 - was imminent.

Meanwhile, their constituents' devotion to Mr. Trump only hardened. For many voters, Mr. Trump became the party. And at CPAC, many of the thousands of attendees sporting Make America Great Again hats made it clear that their loyalties no longer lay with the institution itself.

Despite four years of professions of fealty to Mr. Trump from the party's elected officials and their orienting of the G.O.P. around his image, dozens of conservatives this weekend bristled at the Republican label, castigated the party's current congressional leadership and vowed to leave the party altogether should Mr. Trump decide not to run for a second term in 2024.

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Sany Dash selling merchandise at her CPAC booth. "We're so disgusted by Republicans that, honestly, if Trump's not running, we don't care who wins," she said. Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times

The party's viability in the future, these people suggested - some as they proudly displayed their well-worn Trump 2020 T-shirts - was entirely contingent upon its members' willingness to remain fixed in the past.

"We're so disgusted by Republicans that, honestly, if Trump's not running, we don't care who wins," Sany Dash said as she worked at her Trump merchandise booth.

Ms. Dash's store, Bye Bye Democrats, was bustling on Saturday as CPAC attendees browsed bejeweled MAGA clutches, plush elephants and a tapestry featuring an image of Mr. Trump drinking coffee accompanied by text reading, "The best part of waking up is Donald Trump is president." ("We've sold probably 1,400 Nancy Pelosi toilet paper rolls here," she said. "Our toilet paper is always a hit.")

Yet Ms. Dash, an Indian-American from New York who called herself a "Day 1" Trump supporter, appeared angrier at the moment at Republicans, and specifically at Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who has urged her party to break with the former president. Ms. Dash said she was preparing to open a store in Wyoming in the next two months and call it Bye Bye Liz.

"Liz Cheney is a descendant of a warmonger," she said. "Sorry, we got into war with Iraq, and so many people died - millions of people's lives changed."

She continued: "I don't care what she has to say now. It's like the Bush girls in Austin. I don't care how woke you are in Austin, just because now you get along with Michelle Obama, but your father killed a lot of people. So excuse me, I don't want anything to do with you people."

Like all of the dozens of CPAC attendees interviewed, Ms. Dash said she hoped Mr. Trump would run for president in 2024. There are some other Republicans she likes, including Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota - "I like Kristi Noem, because she fights back," she said, calling her a "female Trump" - but she said she would stick with the G.O.P. only if Mr. Trump, or someone who pledges to lead as he did, was the nominee.

"I mean, I've heard the rest of them - if they actually come through, that's wonderful," she said. "If they don't, I'm going to be out of this party, just like everyone else. It's that simple."

Della Striker, 70, is a lifelong Republican and, for the past three years, has been a fitness instructor at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Fla. But she said her allegiance to Mr. Trump had come to transcend political parties. "I only voted Republican, but I never loved anyone - I voted Republican because they were at least pro-life and loved Israel."

But in 2015, she said, she heard a voice.

"I've heard the Lord five times in my life," she said. "I woke up in 2015 - I was waking up, and it said, 'I want you to pray for Donald Trump.'"

Six years later, Ms. Striker said she was "very upset."

"Seven Republicans turned on him," she said, referring to the senators who voted to convict in Mr. Trump's impeachment trial this month. While she had enjoyed listening to some speakers at CPAC, such as Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, she wondered why there were not more speakers she considered sufficiently pro-Trump - in particular, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Ms. Greene, who was elected in 2020 despite a history of racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic remarks and her embrace of the QAnon conspiracy theory, was not on the CPAC agenda. But she attended the conference anyway, posing for photos on Saturday with throngs of fans in the hallways of the Hyatt Regency.

Other CPAC attendees also questioned Ms. Greene's absence from the agenda.

The political consultant Roger Stone, who was pardoned by Mr. Trump in December after being convicted of making false statements, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, with the rapper Forgiato Blow outside CPAC. Credit... Octavio Jones/Reuters

Pamela Roehl, a Realtor from Illinois who was wearing a red "Keep America Great" cowboy hat, frowned slightly when asked if she considered herself a Republican. "I'm a conservative," she said. For her, that meant "following the Constitution" and "America first." She felt many speakers at this year's conference - her fourth - fit that mold, but she was also looking forward to learning more about "the new congresswoman from Georgia."

Ms. Roehl, 55, unlocked her iPhone, whose screen background was a photo of Donald Trump Jr., and pulled up a group text to double-check that Ms. Greene was indeed in Orlando. "Yeah, I'm going to go hear her speak," Ms. Roehl said. "I know she's controversial with, like, the QAnon stuff and everything, but I like CPAC because you can hear people out."

Ms. Roehl acknowledged that Ms. Greene's history of inflammatory remarks was "kind of a blemish on her," but she saw a positive in them, too, contrasting Ms. Greene to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat. "A lot of the unfiltered women I've seen in politics are more like A.O.C. and other people, so it's kind of neat to see a more conservative person kind of unfiltered," she said.

Yet when it came to other Republicans who were missing from CPAC's agenda, including former Vice President Mike Pence and Nikki Haley, Mr. Trump's former ambassador to the United Nations, many attendees seemed ambivalent, as if those figures' absence hadn't even occurred to them.

"No opinion," Mr. Zegan, the sculptor of the golden Trump, said with a shrug when asked about Mr. Pence. Mr. Zegan, like several of those interviewed, expressed the false belief that the loosely affiliated group of far-left anti-fascism activists known as antifa was responsible for the riot at the Capitol ("It's eventually going to come out," Mr. Zegan promised). But while some said that Mr. Pence had "let down" Mr. Trump by presiding over the congressional certification of Electoral College votes, even they seemed not so much angry toward him as indifferent.

As for Ms. Haley, Mr. Zegan was a bit more animated, pulling out his phone and showing a photo of a painting he had made of her. "I would love to present it to her, but I'm kind of disappointed in her," he said. "When she bad-mouthed Trump - she should've just kept her opinion to herself."

In other words, two figures who were once considered rising stars in the G.O.P., who for years have had an eye to 2024, appeared to have less currency at CPAC than a freshman congresswoman known for her conspiracy theories and her devotion to Mr. Trump.

Asked how he defined the Republican Party right now, Mr. Zegan grinned weakly. "In shambles," he said.

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At CPAC, a Golden Image, a Magic Wand and Reverence for Trump

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The faithful who flocked to the annual conference of conservatives made it clear that their allegiance was to the former president far more than to the Republican Party. ORLANDO, Fla. - Tommy Zegan was appalled by the few sculptures of Donald J.

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"...the scene an almost literal rendering of the Republican Party, which continues to reserve its reverence not for ideas or elected officials but for one man."

The focus of this piece is that the Republican party is less than its former self. It no longer is a party of values and ideals. It has been reduced to a group centered on their devotion to one person, Donald Trump.

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The article features pro-Trump attendees exclusively.

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No party loyalists who may be concerned about this new direction of the party were quoted.

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There is no sense of how representative of the Republican party these people are - no poll numbers, no statistics. That makes it difficult to understand how important this movement is.

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All of the images presented with the article focus on the trivial. The golden statue has made news - mostly for its garish outrageousness. The sales booth image is busy and overwhelming - bordering on tacky. Both images are of things tangential to the purpose of the gathering which is a nothing less than a revival of the Republican party.

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ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

The speakers at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) believe former President Donald Trump is the leader of the conservative movement.

The media, though, has written about the Republican Party and the "deep divisions over the extent to which it should embrace Trump after losing the White House and both chambers of Congress." A headline in the Los Angeles Times reads, "The GOP's civil war is just beginning, and the fighting will get worse before it gets better."

But the attendees at CPAC disagree. Nearly every noteworthy speaker has supported Trump's presidency or outright praised his "American First" agenda.

"Donald J. Trump ain't going anywhere," said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

.@tedcruz: "Let me tell you this right now, Donald J. Trump ain't going anywhere." pic.twitter.com/yRpRb3G9lP

- The Hill (@thehill) February 27, 2021

Sen. Josh Hawley drew among the loudest applause and a standing ovation when he spoke about challenging the election certification on January sixth. "I thought it was an important stand to take," he said.

AMAZING! Josh Hawley gets STANDING OVATION @cpac for his objection to the fraudulent electoral college certification. pic.twitter.com/WAfrhADIlW

- Maggie VandenBerghe (@FogCityMidge) February 26, 2021

"We cannot - we will not - go back to the days of the failed Republican establishment of yesteryear," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who outlined a new Trumpian GOP agenda focused on immigration policies, opposition to China, and ending endless wars.

.@GovRonDeSantis: "We cannot, we will not go back to the days of the failed Republican establishment of yesteryear." https://t.co/VWvhVOs4Kf pic.twitter.com/QCbiscFWQx

- The Hill (@thehill) February 27, 2021

"We will not win the future by trying to go back to where the Republican Party used to be," echoed Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who chairs the fundraising committee tasked with electing Republicans to the Senate. "If we do, we will lose the working base that President Trump so animated. We're going to lose elections across the country, and ultimately we're going to lose our nation."

Senator Rick Scott speaking at CPAC 2021: "President Trump did something that has never been done in our lifetime. He stood up to all of establishment Washington and said.. no, I will not accept business as usual." pic.twitter.com/EymoK5EkIX

- Winston Wolf (@Winston11004677) February 27, 2021

Former Secretary Mike Pompeo said, "I'm proud of our fight. And I'm proud of our accomplishments. We have truly upended the status quo," Pompeo declared to a standing ovation.

Trump Jr., who labeled the conference "TPAC" in honor of his father, hyped the return of his father and the "Make America Great Again" platform to the spotlight.

Donald Trump Jr begins his speech by referring to CPAC as "TPAC" pic.twitter.com/JCfzGTByvH

- Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 26, 2021

"I imagine it will not be what we call a 'low-energy' speech," he said. "And I assure you that it will solidify Donald Trump and all of your feelings about the MAGA movement as the future of the Republican Party."

And as the program was wrapping up for the day on Friday, Trump issued a statement endorsing Max Miller, a former staffer who has now launched a campaign challenging Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), another Republican who voted in favor of impeachment.

In a statement, Trump vowed to recruit insurgent candidates "who espouse Making America Great Again and our policy of America first.

Trump seems focused on the movement he began, lording the America First agenda into battle against the "business as usual" crowd in Washington, DC. With $31 million on hand, bankrolled by his leadership PAC, Save America, Trump's coffers will strategically be invested.

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President Donald Trump is the leader of the conservative movement.

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The speakers at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) believe former President Donald Trump is the leader of the conservative movement. The media, though, has written about the Republican Party and the "deep divisions over the extent to which it should embrace Trump after losing the White House and both chambers of Congress."

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Despite the rumor in other media sources, "no division here." We are united behind Trump.

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This piece did a better job including all the factions. But one noticeable absense was Mike Pence and the Republicans who openly oppose Trump.

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Only speakers who praise Trump are included in this piece. - Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Tom Cotton...

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Repulican/conservative leaders who are critical of Donald Trump are not mentioned.

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There is division in the party. Because of it, many longtime leaders refused to attend the event.

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All of the images are speakers on stage delivering impassioned remarks. The inclusion of the positive, enthusiastic tweets gives the impression of wide-spread support for these politicians.

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"Trump highly popular at annual conservative gathering." Trump is "lifeblood of Republican Party."

""I think without question" the Republican Party is still the Trump party, Donald Trump Jr., told Fox News shortly after his address."

The focus of this piece is that Trump is the frontrunner and is planning to run in 2024.

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Trump and Trump Jr. are featured. Also mentioned are Trump supporters  Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley.

Also mentions non-Trump supporter Ron DeSantis' possible run in 2024.

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Although a various sampling of Republican notables are quoted, there is no mention of those who oppose Trump.

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There is no in depth look at the size of the event, the number/volume of the opposing factions. A sense of reality is missing here.

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The visual images are largely either video or photographs of Trump.

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Trump supporters including Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley are featured.

Also, "a slew of ambitious Republicans eyeing bids for the party's 2024 nomination ... begin staking their own claims ..." including Mitt Romney and Ben Sasse.

Although "Those on ambiguous terms with the former President ...were not on hand" including Mike Pence and Nikki Haley. But the mention of their names and the illumination of their absense includes them in the piece.

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What's missing is a Republican acknowledgement of science or common sense when it came to wearing masks. Many did not wear masks and Trump "lambasted" the notion.

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This article did not include visuals but did include links to other CPAC speakers.

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"This moment will be the latest test and testimony of Donald J. Trump’s success at asserting his imprimatur on everything GOP."

"Trump will rally conservatives to himself — not to the Republican Party, to their movement or even to the country"

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Donald  Trump, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Hailey.

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Republican/conservative leaders who are in support of Donald Trump are not mentioned.

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There are no direct quotes from Donald Trump mentioned in the article. No clear picture of what he had talked about during his speech.

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The visual images are of the backdrop of CPAC, a picture of Donald Trump that is printed in red.

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"Trump's inaccuracies in his speech at the close of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, were largely nothing new."

The focus of this piece was to discuss inaccuracies in Trump's speech.

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Donald Trump and Trump critic Sarah Longwell

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This article had a Trump critic fact checking things Trump said. There were no pro Trump leaders mentioned.

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There were no mention of factual statements that Donald Trump did say in his speech.

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This article included one picture of Donald Trump from the event.