President Donald Trump headlined the event, appearing on Saturday, March 2.[8] He spoke for over two hours, which was the longest speech of his presidency to date.[9] Trump criticized many people and topics during the speech, including reporter David Weigel, former FBI DirectorJames Comey, special counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney GeneralRod Rosenstein, and attorney general Jeff Sessions, political consultant John Podesta, the Green New Deal, and the Russia investigation, which he called "a phony witch-hunt."[9][10] During the speech, Trump promised to sign a bill protecting free speech on college campuses and "urged conservative activists to remain vigilant" going into the 2020 elections.[11][12]Newsweek called the speech "blustery" with "unverifiable statistics", while The New York Times called the speech "rambling."[13][14]The Week stated the speech contained 104 "false or misleading claims."[15]The Washington Examiner praised the speech, stating the "...speech was a road map for [his] 2020 campaign."[16]
Mark Meadows spoke at the event during a panel on Thursday morning, February 28. He criticized the Green New Deal, stating, "You know, with this Green New Deal, they’re trying to get rid of all the cows. But I’ve got good news: Chick-fil-A stock will go way up because we are gonna be eating more chicken!"
During a panel on Thursday afternoon, African-American second amendment rights activists were interviewed, including Maj Toure, the founder of Black Guns Matter; Antonia Okafor, founder of EmPOWERed; and Niger Innis, spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality.[17]
On Thursday night, Sebastian Gorka gave a "fiery speech" criticizing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whom he branded a "socialist."[18]
On Friday, Ted Cruz had a panel with National Review editor Rich Lowry. Cruz criticized Democrats, stating, "I think there is a technical description for what’s going on, which is that Democrats have gone batcrap crazy. They are getting more and more and more extreme on every issue."[19]
Author DeAnna Lorraine arranged a "Tribute to Men" event, during which she criticized the Boy Scouts of America for admitting girls, calling them the "Soy Scouts."[27][28]
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