年度保守派政治行动会议长期以来一直是未来总统的试验场，激发了罗纳德·里根和唐纳德·特朗普等重量级人物的政治抱负。
今年，所有人都在关注谁能成为第二名。
前总统川普已经轻松击败了几乎所有2024年的初选对手，只有前南卡罗来纳州州长妮基·黑利在迄今为止投票的每个州都以两位数的差距落后。
随着共和党提名基本确定，党内对特朗普潜在竞选伙伴的猜测急剧上升，许多领先的竞争者同时聚集在CPAC，一些政治观察人士认为这是一场选拔赛。
“对于有希望成为副总裁的人来说，CPAC是一个向MAGA基地展示自己的机会。特朗普身边的一位资深共和党策略师表示:“到最后，特朗普可能会有一个‘学徒’般的副总裁职位面试。”这位策略师要求不透露姓名，以便更自由地发言。“CPAC是一个好地方，因为它是最大的基地——真正的信徒。”
“我认为这是完全开放的，”这位人士补充说。“特朗普非常守口如瓶。”
佛罗里达州众议员拜伦·唐纳兹、亚利桑那州参议员候选人卡莉·莱克、南达科他州州长克里斯蒂·诺姆、企业家维维克·拉马斯瓦米、纽约州众议员爱丽丝·斯特凡尼克和俄亥俄州参议员JD·万斯都在盖洛德国家度假村发表了讲话& Convention Center，为特朗普最忠实的支持者提供了一个测试不同信息的机会，也为该党提供了一个机会，看看他们的言论在多大程度上得到了共和党的支持。
与会者的日程安排如此紧凑，以至于司法观察的负责人、保守派活动人士汤姆·菲顿(Tom Fitton)在莱克演讲后评论道:“感觉我是这里唯一一个没有竞选副总统的人。”
唐纳德斯的演讲主要集中在外交政策上，他敦促美国盟友在共同防御上投入更多资金，并宣布:“决定乔·拜登，哪个国家对你更重要，美国边境还是乌克兰边境?”
莱克也关注边境问题，称芬太尼是“大规模杀伤性武器”，同时称赞特朗普“正是我们在2015年需要的人，他也正是我们今天需要的人。"
诺姆将她所在州实施的民粹主义政策标榜为美国的蓝图，并宣称“我是这个国家唯一一位在新冠肺炎·疫情执政期间从未关闭过一家企业的州长”，从而赢得了掌声。
拉马斯瓦米倾向于文化斗争，警告说“我们这些热爱美利坚合众国和我们的建国理想的人与讨厌这个国家和我们实际代表的边缘少数人之间的战争。”
斯特凡尼克呼应特朗普的警告称，他的敌人将“不择手段”来“窃取下一次选举”，这句话在人群中回荡。
万斯对特朗普大加赞赏，同时诋毁许多议员急于进一步帮助乌克兰抵御俄罗斯的入侵，而不是更多地关注国内问题。他说:“如果你最关心的事情是6000英里外的冲突，你就不应该成为这个国家的领导人。”
这些演讲还带有微妙的讽刺，包括诺姆想知道“为什么所有其他人和候选人都参加竞选”，显然是指拉马斯瓦米和南卡罗莱纳州参议员蒂姆·斯科特，这两位前2024年候选人现在被认为是特朗普的潜在竞选伙伴。
尽管如此，有一件事让所有发言的人团结在一起，那就是他们对特朗普执政时期的钦佩。
在会议全面展开之前，特朗普身边的另一位消息人士告诉ABC新闻，他们也有同样的预期。这位消息人士同样不愿透露姓名。
此人周三表示:“我认为你将在CPAC看到的是，许多人试图让观众觉得他们和特朗普一样伟大，他们是特朗普的最佳竞选伙伴。”。“有很多人会站出来，试图让非常保守的人群相信，他们对特朗普的诚意已经足够了。”
为了强调对“副总统候选人”的关注，CPAC在其民意调查中添加了一个问题，即与会者希望特朗普选择谁作为他的第二号人物。这是至少十年来第一次出现在这个著名但不科学的调查中。
对1，478名CPAC与会者的调查显示，诺姆和拉马斯瓦米的支持率为15%，其次是前民主党众议员塔尔西·加巴德的支持率为9%，斯特凡尼克和斯科特的支持率为8%，唐纳兹的支持率为7%，莱克的支持率为6%。
与十多名与会者的交谈反映了这些结果，并显示了一系列偏好，其中许多人在谈论他们的选择时使用了“强硬”等形容词，而其他人则表示他们对几个浮动的名字持开放态度。
“我只是认为她很强硬，”来自南卡罗来纳州北默特尔比奇的退休干草农民帕特·托马斯(Pat Thomas)解释了她希望诺姆与特朗普一起竞选的原因。
“我爱拜伦·唐纳兹。他刚刚在台上。他会是一个优秀的副总裁候选人。唐纳德对人群发表讲话后不久，德克萨斯州沃思堡市的经济学家托马斯·西恩斯说:“我支持他。
“我喜欢克里斯蒂·诺姆。我喜欢拉马斯瓦米。JD Vance我想看到的一些。但这是个重大决定。我认为对他们来说有很多很好的选择，”佛罗里达州奥兰多的内科医生马克·韦勒姆说。
“我认为有很多人在试镜，”来自宾夕法尼亚州阿尔图纳的医生乔纳森·格里尔说。“我认为CPAC是名人录的晴雨表。“
但归根结底，宣传特朗普竞选伙伴的只有一个真正的观众:他。距离今年夏天的共和党大会还有几个月的时间，特朗普身边的第二位消息人士对CPAC今年能否创造或破坏任何一个人的晋升机会表示怀疑。
“我的猜测是，唐纳德·特朗普不会观看CPAC的任何一场演讲，他只会在发表完演讲后离开，”这位人士表示。
As speculation mounts on Trump's running mate, contenders pitch the base at CPAC
The annualConservative Political Action Conferencehas long been a proving ground for would-be presidents, launching the political aspirations of heavyweights like Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.
This year, all eyes were on who could be No. 2.
Former President Trump has handily dispatched nearly all of his 2024 primary rivals, with only former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley hanging on while trailing by yawning polling margins and losing by double digits in every state that's voted so far.
With the GOP nomination all but determined, speculation over Trump's potential running mate is skyrocketing in the party -- and many of the lead contenders gathered at CPAC at the same time in what was viewed by some political observers as a tryout of sorts.
"CPAC is an opportunity for the VP hopefuls to make their case to the MAGA base. At the end of the day, Trump will probably have an 'Apprentice'-like audition for the VP slot," said one senior GOP strategist in Trump's orbit, who asked not to be quoted by name to speak more freely. "CPAC is a good venue because it is the most MAGA of the base -- the true believers."
"I think it's wide open," this person added. "Trump keeps his cards very close."
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik and Ohio Sen. JD Vance all spoke at the Gaylord National Resort& Convention Center, offering a chance to test different messages to Trump's most loyal enthusiasts and for the party to see how much their rhetoric resounds with the GOP base.
The schedule of participants was so packed that conservative activist Tom Fitton, the head of Judicial Watch, remarked right after Lake's speech: "It feels like I'm the only one here not running for vice president."
Donalds focused his speech largely on foreign policy, urging U.S. allies to invest more in shared defense and declaring, "Decide Joe Biden, which country matters more to you, the border of the United States or the border of Ukraine?"
Lake focused on the border, too, calling fentanyl a "weapon of mass destruction while praising Trump as "exactly the man we needed in 2015, and he's exactly the man we need today."
Noem touted populist policies implemented in her state as a blueprint for America, sparking applause by declaring, "I was the only governor in this country who never once closed a single business" during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ramaswamy leaned into culture battles, warning of a "war between those of us who love the United States of America and our founding ideals and a fringe minority who hates this country and what we actually stand for."
Stefanik echoed Trump in warning that his enemies would "stop at nothing" to "steal this next election," a line that resounded with the crowd.
And Vance heaped praise on Trump while vilifying many lawmakers' eagerness to further aid Ukraine in fending off Russia's invasion rather than focusing more on domestic issues. "If the thing you care most about is a conflict 6,000 miles away, you should not be a leader in this country," he said.
The speeches also featured subtle snipes, including Noem wondering "why did all these other people and candidates get in the race," apparently referring to Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, two former 2024 candidates who are now being floated as potential Trump running mates.
Still, one thing that united everyone who spoke was their admiration for Trump's time in office.
Before the conference was in full swing, another source in Trump's orbit, who likewise didn't want to be quoted by name to be candid, told ABC News that they expected as much.
"I think what you're going to see at CPAC is a number of people who are trying to impress upon the crowd that they are as MAGA as Trump, that they are the best person to be his running mate," this person said on Wednesday. "You've got a number of people who are going to come out and try and convince what is a very conservative crowd that their Trump bona fides are sufficient enough."
Underscoring the focus on the "veepstakes," CPAC added to its straw poll a question of who attendees want Trump to pick as his No. 2, the first time in at least a decade that was included in the well-known -- but unscientific -- survey.
The poll of 1,478 CPAC attendees showed a tie, with Noem and Ramaswamy knotted up at 15%, followed by former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard at 9%, Stefanik and Scott tied at 8%, Donalds at 7% and Lake at 6%.
Conversations with more than a dozen attendees reflected those results and showed an array of preferences, with many talking about their choices with adjectives like "tough" while others said they're remaining open to several of the floated names.
"I just think she's tough," said Pat Thomas, a retired hay farmer from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, explaining why she'd like Noem to run with Trump.
"I love Byron Donalds. He was just up on the stage. He'd be an excellent VP candidate. Throw my weight behind him," Thomas Siens, an economist from Fort Worth, Texas, said shortly after Donalds spoke to the crowd.
"I like Kristi Noem. I like Ramaswamy. JD Vance, some of the ones that I would like to see. But it's a big decision. I think there's a lot of really good options for them," said Mark Wehrum, a physician from Orlando, Florida.
"I think there's a lot of people who are auditioning," said Jonathan Grier, a physician from Altoona, Pennsylvania. "I think CPAC is a good barometer for who's who."
But at the end of the day, the pitch to be Trump's running mate has only one real audience: him. And there are still months to go before the GOP convention this summer, with the second source in Trump's orbit skeptical that CPAC could make or break any one person's chances for promotion this year.
"My guess is Donald Trump will not watch one speech at CPAC and will show up only to give his speech and then to leave," this person said.
