The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is raising eyebrows after it kicked off in Orlando, Florida, with a 2020 election conspiracy supercut and a gold statue of former President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to speak at the event.
Trump is expected to announce a 2024 presidential run during his address to the four-day gathering – described as “Woodstock for election liars” by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper – a prospect dismissed by his White House successor Joe Biden, who has said he will not be paying attention.
Friday’s session has already been hit by controversy after members of the crowd booed when asked to wear their Covid face masks by organizers. Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis kicked off proceedings by declaring his state was “open for business”, Texas senator Ted Cruz mocked Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Josh Hawley and Donald Trump Jr are due to take to the stage later.
Then Rep. Matt Gaetz fired up the crowd by bringing Mr. Potato Head into the mix and proudly proclaiming to be “a Florida man” while as he launched a manic attack against New York.
Take a look at the videos below.
Matt Gaetz brought up Mr. Potato Head's junk because of course he did pic.twitter.com/h31ASoc26V
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 26, 2021
Matt Gaetz proclaims himself a "Florida Man" in Orlando: "Florida's like an amazing woman. Adventurous, beautiful, mostly sunny, sometimes a little crazy, and always here to encourage and support success." pic.twitter.com/wLT9hdDTYP
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) February 26, 2021
