Conservatives from across the country filled a ballroom a few blocks from the White House and lamented that the United States is abandoning the ideals that forged a great nation. Some attendees donned red hats with various inscriptions mocking President Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” movement. It was the largest gathering to date of the “Principles First Summit,” expanded upon Trump’s second term to welcome independents and center-left Democrats under a shared pro-democracy, anti-authoritarian aim. “This is not a time to bend the knee, to play along,” said Heath Mayo, the Yale-educated attorney who founded Principles First five years ago for self-identified politically homeless conservatives. “This is a time for stiffening your spine, standing up and getting ready for a long fight.” Yet three days of conversations and recriminations still left 1,200 attendees without a clear roadmap to loosen Trump’s grip on the conservative movement and America’s national identity. There was not even consensus on whether to fight within Republican spheres at all, migrate to the Democratic Party or find a different path altogether. “It makes you feel better to know that you’re not alone and that you’re not crazy,” said Jeff Oppenheim, a retired U.S. Army colonel from Austin, Texas. “The question is how to translate that into action in a political system that’s very difficult to influence, because it’s structured in a way that two parties have complete control.” Mark Cuban, the entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” co-host who was one of then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ most prominent surrogates last fall, got a rousing ovation when he took the stage but vowed that he would not run for the White House. He dismissed the Democratic Party, profanely, as unable to sell its own message. “I’m not here to throw him under the bus,” Cuban said of Trump, praising the Republican president’s ability as a marketer who convinced voters he could help them. Democrats, Cuban said, make their critiques of Trump moot because they “can’t sell worth s—.” Trump’s allies mocked the gathering in advance as full of “RINOs,” or Republicans in name only. White House communications director Steven Cheung called it “the Cuck Convention” on his government account. The word “cuck,” which describes a man who likes to watch his wife have sex with other men, was frequently used during the campaign to insult and emasculate rivals. Trump has far greater control of the Republican Party in his second term, with allies across Congress and the loyalty of most of the party’s base. But his few remaining rivals within the party argue there are still ways to break his hold. Former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a frequent Trump target who was among the people to receive a preemptive pardon from President Joe Biden, pointed to Republicans’ narrow 218-215 majority in the House and said lawmakers are privately nervous as recent town halls show voter anger over billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk and his sweeping moves to fire federal workers, shut down agencies and limit federal services. Kinzinger urged critics to ratchet up pressure in public settings because critical town hall audiences, he argued, offer the most “uncomfortable” moments of a politician’s job. “Right now, Republican members of Congress fear one person: Donald Trump. They don’t fear you,” Kinzinger said. “When they start fearing you, that’s when […]