President Trump to address conservatives at CPAC

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ABC News(NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.) — President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday at 10:20 a.m., his fifth time addressing the gathering of right-wing organizers and activists.

The conference, which is hosted by the American Conservative Union, began in 1974 and has since grown into a four-day-long event with thousands of attendees. Trump’s appearance Friday marks the fourth visit by a sitting president.

In his first speech at CPAC in 2011, Trump floated the possibility of a run for the 2012 Republican nomination, a race ultimately won by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

“America today is missing quality leadership and foreign countries have quickly realized this,” said Trump in 2011.

“[The] theory of a very successful person running for office is rarely tested because most successful people don’t want to be scrutinized or abused,” he added. “This is the kind of person that the country needs and we need it now.”

Six years later, Trump is the president of the United States and will be the event’s main attraction after skipping last year’s CPAC to instead campaign.

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Vice President Mike Pence were a few of the major figures to speak at the conference on Thursday.

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