US conservatives gather as Trump faces pressure on multiple fronts

Washington (AFP) - Russian meddling, national mourning for school shooting victims, the chaotic state of Donald Trump's presidency: US political turbulence forms a dramatic backdrop as conservatives gather near Washington beginning Wednesday for their often controversial annual confab.

Thousands of Republican activists, party heavyweights and national politicians -- not to mention a scion of France's ultra-nationalist movement -- converge on a Maryland convention center to tout the health of a populist revolution that rocked American politics to its core in 2016 and ushered in the Trump era.

Thirteen months after the brash billionaire entered the White House, Trump is the featured speaker Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Religious conservative Vice President Mike Pence addresses CPAC the day before, as does White House counsel Don McGahn -- an odd choice for the high-profile event as he is under scrutiny in a White House security clearance scandal.

CPAC was "getting ready for another exciting event. Big difference from those days when President Obama held the White House," Trump tweeted Tuesday.


Source : Yahoo News