Originally launched in 1974 by the American Conservative Union (ACU) in partnership with Young Americans for Freedom, the event began as a traditional Republican meetup. Ronald Reagan gave its first keynote address, and for decades CPAC attempted to maintain the veneer of establishment conservatism, emphasizing free markets, anti-communism, and law and order.
That façade has long since fallen away. As the Republican Party radicalized, CPAC transformed with it, becoming a platform for far-right politics and conspiratorial nationalism. Donald Trump has become the main attraction at CPAC, and the event has reoriented itself around Trumpism and the global currents of far-right extremism. Once a domestic Republican gathering, CPAC now functions as a transnational summit for reactionary movements worldwide.
Under the leadership of the ACU and its chairman Matt Schlapp, CPAC has aggressively expanded abroad, forging partnerships and holding events with far-right parties and ideologues on nearly every continent. In Argentina, it has aligned itself with President Javier Milei, whose radical libertarianism, climate denial, and anti-feminist rhetoric reflect CPAC’s own priorities. In Brazil, it is closely tied to the Bolsonaro family and its evangelical base. In Australia, it is backed by the country’s climate-sceptic hard right. In Hungary, CPAC has turned Prime Minister Viktor Orbán into a conservative superstar, celebrating his dismantling of liberal democratic institutions.
In Japan, CPAC has formed a strange alliance with Happy Science, a cult-like religious group with UFO-centric doctrines and far-right nationalist messaging; its political arm, the Happiness Realization Party, has hosted the event. In Mexico, CPAC is aligned with the shadowy Catholic extremist network El Yunque, and promoted Eduardo Verástegui, a failed 2024 presidential candidate and longtime Yunque affiliate. In South Korea, CPAC partners with the far-right People’s Party Korea, while in Poland, it collaborates with the ultra-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, known for its assaults on judicial independence and media freedom.
The CPAC 2025 speaker roster illustrates the scope of this global right-wing convergence. Among the featured guests are former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, Brexit advocate Nigel Farage, Spanish VOX leader Santiago Abascal, Brazilian congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, and Mexican activist Eduardo Verástegui. Also appearing are Warren Mundine, chair of CPAC Australia; members of Orbán’s Fidesz party; Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico; Israeli Likud Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli; and former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. French National Rally leader Jordan Bardella was initially scheduled to appear, but canceled after fellow speakers, including Steve Bannon and Verástegui, were filmed performing Nazi salutes on stage.
