A Trump impersonator and opera singers: CPAC was a spectacle, but the right still can’t agree how to take down Labor
Preferences proved the sticking point at the conference as conservatives face the prospect of a third successive election defeat Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast Many mainstream Australians would feel as if they’d been dropped in a foreign country at the Conservative Political Action Conference, lost amid oblique references to transgender swimmers, blue hair, women’s…
At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Brisbane, attendees were met with an eclectic mix of performances and discussions that left many feeling lost and confused. Among the conservative crowd, preferences emerged as the major point of contention, with the prospect of another third successive electoral defeat looming over the right.
Monica Smit, a rightwing campaigner, engaged in conversation with a Donald Trump impersonator, adding to the spectacle that unfolded at the conference. The national anthem was performed by opera singers, with the first verse repeated twice for reasons that remained unclear. Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and her folk singer husband joined in, singing the anthem once more. The conference also saw Karl Stefanovic jokingly thanking CPAC for "rudely interrupting my unemployment."
The bizarre and often oblique references to transgender swimmers, blue hair, women's bathrooms, and jokes about falling off stages contributed to the surreal atmosphere at CPAC. The right struggled to find a common ground on how to tackle Labor, with the conference serving as a ridiculous yet intriguing spectacle.
Written by urgent.news from The Guardian's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
