Thursday’s Washington Secrets comes to you from CPAC, just outside Dallas. We’re here even if Donald Trump and Sen. John Cornyn are giving it a wide berth. Today, we interview the attendees who very much want the attacks on the Iranian regime to continue, and we get a pretty big clue about who CPAC will endorse in the Texas Senate runoff, plus, are these midterm poll numbers real?
DALLAS — The easiest story to write about the MAGA movement as it gets together in Texas for one of its biggest events of the year is the divide among key players about the war in Iran.
Reza Farnood and his “Persians for Trump” T-shirt are a wrinkle in the simple narrative.
As he sat in the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Wednesday afternoon, he choked up with tears as he described his family’s flight from Iran 35 years ago.
He had a simple message for the Steve Bannons and the noninterventionists who believe “America First” means no more foreign wars and leaving Iran to its brutal mullah leaders.
“Steve, how can you not see?” said the 62-year-old federal worker, whose “Fight” cap shows the famous image of a bloodied Donald Trump, with his fist in the air. “I understand you don’t want war. You’ve got to be mentally ill to ask for war. But right now, there is no choice.”
It was a war against terrorism, he added, saying it could not end until the regime in Tehran was toppled.
Trump was elected on a platform of ending foreign entanglements. But since taking office, he has launched military offensives to snatch a president (Venezuela), take out armed groups (Nigeria), and end Iran’s missile program (and other objectives, that have at times included regime change).
His supporters have split between those such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, who believe he is a traitor to his base, the likes of Bannon, who believe he is damaging his party’s chances in future elections, and allies of the late Charlie Kirk, who believe Trump will end up making good on his promise to get in and out fast.
For several hundred attendees at CPAC, however, the issues are closer to home.
During a panel on religious freedom, a Nigerian lawyer praised Trump’s decision to launch airstrikes on Islamic State affiliates accused of targeting Christians on Christmas Day.
“He is the first American president who has come to the rescue of Nigerian Christians,” Fanco Utoo said.
“If it was up to us, Trump would rule for another 10 years.”
Persians for Trump T-shirts are the most obvious sign of how Trump’s wars are popular with some at CPAC.
Farnood said 300 of his associates had signed up to attend the conference. He said they aimed to push back not just on the anti-war “America First” crowd but also show their support for Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s crown prince, who is due to speak here on Friday.
He remains in exile in the United States, where Trump has been ambivalent about any future role in Iran, describing him as “nice” but questioning whether he had enough support to lead his country.
Farnood carried a sign showing Pahlavi and Trump with the slogan “Make Iran Great Again” but said he was less interested in the crown prince than persuading the conservative movement to keep fighting the Iranian leadership.
Bannon, who will host his War Room show from CPAC, has warned Republicans that the war will cost votes in the midterm elections if it becomes “a hard slog.”
As Trump weighs his exit ramp and what his final objectives are, it leaves Iranian exiles hoping that regime change can still be achieved.
A short war may not be long enough.
Nima Poursohi, another in a “Persians for Trump” T-shirt, said it was vital that the president did not lose sight of who was the original aggressor.
“We cannot tell you how grateful we are for everything,” he said of the war so far.
“But first and foremost, America and Iran have been at war for the last 47 years, since the revolution started. Donald Trump did not start this war.”
Paxton or Cornyn?
One of the themes running through the conference is which side CPAC and its attendees will back in the Texas Senate primary. It pits election denier Ken Paxton against incumbent John Cornyn.
In fact, it is all a bit of a charade. CPAC and its MAGA crowd are more natural Paxton allies. He has landed one of the plum speaking slots while Cornyn is staying away, citing crucial Senate votes in Washington, which, interestingly, haven’t kept Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) away.
Mercedes Schlapp, one of the organizers, had some fun with it during the first session on Wednesday evening.
“Who here likes Ken Paxton?” she asked, triggering a huge round of “yeahs.”
“Who here likes John Cornyn?” Silence followed, then boos and shouts of “no, no, no.”
Their names are in the famous CPAC straw poll, with results to be announced on Saturday. Might be worth a go on the prediction markets!
Can these numbers be real?
Speaking of polls, John Zogby, a friend of Secrets, released a fascinating finding from his latest poll this week. Democrats and Republicans are pretty much tied in his generic congressional poll, which asked voters who they would pick if the midterm elections were today, leaving aside local candidates, etc.
Some 46.3% of voters said they would vote Democratic compared with 45.8% for Republicans, with a 3.2-point margin of error. That is ridiculously close in a year when Republicans should take a shellacking as the party in control of Congress and the White House, with oil prices soaring, and no sign of an end to the war in Iran.
So what’s going on?
He discussed the issue in a podcast with his son, Jeremy, who laid out two related problems for Democrats.
“They are not leading the conversation. They’re not able to break through on affordability, break through on healthcare, break through on those kinds of issues, simply because the president of the United States has the bully pulpit and dominates the conversation, has the ability to change the conversation.
“Which leads, I think, to the second point, which is that the press, even though tough questions do get through at various press conferences or shouted at the president as he’s getting on Marine One … it’s still a question where the president controls the answer and the president is the focal point. Democrats are simply not able to break through.”
Trump remains the master of communication. Although I know some pollsters are saying these numbers are outliers.
Lunchtime reading
Six big questions at CPAC 2026: If you need more CPAC, then this is a good primer on the things to watch for. Perhaps the biggest question of all — and we’ll be looking at it Friday — is: Who cares?
Who will yell at the robot umpires? It’s opening day, so enjoy this from the ever-readable Jason Gay.
You are reading Washington Secrets, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond. It is written by Rob Crilly, who you can reach at secrets @ washington examiner DOTCOM with your comments, story tips, and suggestions. If a friend sent you this and you’d like to sign up, click here.