CPAC Head Would Fear for Senator Mitt Romney's Safety If He Attended 2020 Convention

Hunter DeRensis

Politics,

Matt  Schlapp: “This year, I’d actually be afraid for his physical safety, people are so mad at him."

The political reverberations for Mitt Romney after last week’s impeachment vote have been immediately felt. The junior senator from Utah voted for one article of impeachment, deciding that President Donald Trump had committed an abuse of power. Now he faces the backlash from conservative voters and fellow Republican politicians.

The first consequence was being formally not invited to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. CPAC, hosted by the American Conservative Union, was inaugurated in 1974 as a gathering for conservative activists, young people, and movement icons. For years the conference has touted their annual straw poll as an indication of who conservatives prefer for their future presidential nominee. Mitt Romney currently holds the record for most straw poll wins, including the years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2012. Matt Schlapp, Chairman of the ACU, disinvited Romney after the senator voted to hear more witnesses at the impeachment trial, calling his tenure in office “a waste.”

Schlapp, who served as a political director under George W. Bush, elaborated his stance in a Sunday interview with Greta Van Susteren. “We won't credential him as a conservative," Schlapp said about Romney’s attendance, but "I suppose if he wants to come as a non-conservative and debate an issue with us, maybe in the future we would have him come."

“This year, I’d actually be afraid for his physical safety, people are so mad at him,” Schlapp added.

This final line engendered controversy from commentators, who were dismayed that the ACU Chairman would say he couldn’t guarantee the safety of a sitting U.S. senator and former Republican presidential nominee.

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