Conservatism's Biggest Conference Was Missing Its Star

<div> <p>Over the past decade or so, the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/current/trump-cpac/lach">, has become a massive gathering of right-wing power brokers</a> — but this year, President <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5800749-trump-cpac-absence-notable-names/">Trump didn’t go</a>. Neither did Vice President JD Vance nor Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The lackluster convention seemed to mirror a MAGA movement that’s looking increasingly unmoored. Ben Jacobs is a Washington-based political reporter who has been going to CPAC for years. We talked about his trip to the …