Donald Trump loomed large over the annual Conservative Action Political Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md., this week, demonstrating the iron grip the former president still maintains over the GOP’s ultra-conservative base. 

Trump won the event’s straw poll with 62 percent support, while his intraparty rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) came in a distant second with 20 percent support. 

However, this year’s CPAC lacked the excitement seen in past years and featured far fewer party leaders, in part due to the conservative Club for Growth’s donor retreat in Florida happening at the same time. The dueling events underscored a growing divide in the Republican Party going into 2024.