CPAC 2022: US conservatives show little interest in Ukraine

The Conservative Political Action Conference, or Cpac for short, is usually a good way to gauge the mood of grass-roots activists within the Republican Party.

If the four-day event that concluded in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday night was any indication, the conservative base of the party is much more interested in the upcoming congressional mid-term elections in November and defeating Democrats than they are about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Some of the top Republican officeholders in the party, like Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Senator Rick Scott, didn't mention Ukraine at all in their speeches.

Donald Trump, who took the stage on Saturday night, offered a quick condemnation of the invasion, but spent more time defending his interactions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that led to his first impeachment and his statements earlier this week calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a "genius". He added that Nato nations and current US leadership were dumb.

One of Mr Trump more loyal supporters, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, went further, questioning why the US should be "footing the bill for Ukraine" by imposing sanctions that could damage the American economy.