The Conservative Political Action Conference has become much more of a MAGA event in recent years, with Donald Trump himself scheduled on Saturday to address the event of conservative activists, media figures and supporters.
But the event has been covered on the right and the left, save for perhaps this year.
Matt Schlapp, the chair of the conference, said that he was not going to credential those in the left.
“CPAC has a new rule. If you are a propagandist, you can buy a ticket like everyone else, but you are not in the media, and we are not going to credential you by saying you are in the media,” Schlapp said on Steve Bannon’s podcast.
He singled out MSNBC, saying it was “100% anti Trump, anti-America, anti-conservative, every moment of every day. They never have any kind of honest treatment of anything.”
“Let’s get real. Let’s not credential them anymore, and we are not going to do it.”
Schlapp also posted a text that he said his wife received from a HuffPost staffer, after being denied credentials.
We’re told that NBCUniversal News Group has plans for three reporters to be dispatched to the event, and MSNBC will go to them for coverage.
CPAC also has been boasting of other exclusions, including of former House members Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who served on the January 6th Committee. “Unfortunately, some members of the GOP have proven they’re not conservative at all, so they don’t make the cut,” read a message on X/Twitter with the headline NOT INVITED.
This year’s event will be at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor, located down the Potomac from D.C. Speakers include Bannon, Vivek Ramaswamy, Mike Lindell, Kari Lake and Lou Dobbs.
Schlapp has faced allegations of sexual misconduct, including by a former staffer to Herschel Walker’s 2022 Senate campaign, Carlton Huffman, who filed a lawsuit against him. Through a spokesperson, Schlapp has denied the allegations.
