Closing Summary
It is nearly 8pm in Maryland and CPAC has come to an end. Here is a wrap-up of the conference’s highlights and beyond:
During a nearly two-hour address, Trump – the conference’s closing speaker – lamented his series of legal troubles, name-called his opponents, offered high praise towards his own presidency, made lofty promises such as evicting Joe Biden from the White House, preventing third world war and stopping the Russia-Ukraine war in “one day”. He also laid out a series of policies he’d enact as president, including “dismantling” the ‘woke mob,’ installing 200 more miles of border wall, and stripping gender-affirmation care and diversity & inclusion policies across the country. At nearly every pause of his two-hour tirade, the MAGA crowd cheered and hollered.
Far right Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert also took the stage at CPAC. As she yelled into her mic, she threw around words like “woke” (a bad thing in her view, when it’s schools teaching America’s racial history) and “defund” (good in her view when it’s Republicans taking money away from what she considers sketchy federal agencies).
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who was defeated by his comeback challenger from the left Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in recent elections, spoke at CPAC and condemned condemned self-determination in gender identity, and gun safety laws. He then issued high praise towards Trump.
Beyond CPAC, self-help author Marianne Williamson officially became the first Democrat to run for the presidency in 2024 in a challenge to US president Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. She kicked off another long-shot campaign in Washington DC earlier today. Leading Democrats, meanwhile, are lining up behind a Biden for a second term.
Minnesota governor Tim Walz has signed a law that will restore voting rights to more than 55,000 felons who complete their prison terms. According to the governor’s office, the law “restores the civil right to vote to individuals who have been convicted of a felony upon their completion of any incarceration imposed and executed for the conviction.”
That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we wrap up the blog for today. Thank you for following along.
Updated
Minnesota governor Tim Walz has signed a law that will restore voting rights to more than 55,000 felons who complete their prison terms.
On Friday, Walz signed House File 28, which according to the governor’s office, “restores the civil right to vote to individuals who have been convicted of a felony upon their completion of any incarceration imposed and executed for the conviction.”
The bill also requires Department of Corrections or judiciary system officials to provide a written notice and a voter registration application to individuals upon their release from incarceration.
“Minnesotans who have completed time for their offenses and are living, working, and raising families in their communities deserve the right to vote. As a state that consistently ranks among the top three in voter turnout, Minnesota will continue to lead in the fight to protect and expand the right to vote,” said Walz.
“I am grateful to the community members, organizers, and legislators who are committed to strengthening the freedom to vote and ensuring every Minnesotan has a voice in our democracy,” he added.
