Fox News host Neil Cavuto pushed back Saturday when former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Republicans “are looking forward.”
“They’re actually looking backward, right? They’re not looking forward at all,” the host said during an interview on “Cavuto Live” that focused on the ongoing Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida.
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Cavuto noted that “there are a lot of prominent Republicans who are not at the CPAC” as he mentioned names like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and former Vice President Mike Pence. (RELATED: ‘He Is The Leader Of Our Party’: Jim Jordan Dismisses ‘A Handful Of People’ In GOP Who Oppose Trump)
“I get a feeling, and you’re closer to it than I’ll ever be, governor, that there is a divide among Republicans, those who are very, very loyal to the former president, those who are — were not — and afraid about the group that is in lockstep with the former president [Donald Trump], who’s a controversial figure,” Cavuto said.
“Well, again, I think in the end people are looking forward. We’re in this fight. We understand the battle to try and silence conservatives,” Walker responded.
“But they’re not looking forward, right? They’re actually looking backward, right? They’re not looking forward at all,” Cavuto insisted.
Walker said he “would disagree with that. I think we’re looking forward,” adding that Republicans “want to continue to make a case … to govern” at all levels of the political system. He noted that predictions of a “blue wave” during the 2020 elections did not occur and that the GOP turned two legislative bodies in Alaska and New Hampshire.
The former governor suggested continued Republican support for Trump remains high because of his policy successes, if not because of his personality.
“We may have slight differences with a tweet here and there, that’s just part of life. But the bottom line is this guy’s delivered on his promises, and we all too often look at Washington and see politicians who fail us time and time again,” Walker said, adding that Trump “was willing to stir the pot in our nation’s capital — and I think we need more of that.” (RELATED: ‘He Did Tell You So’: Lara Trump Says Donald Trump’s CPAC Speech Will Be About How He Warned America About Joe Biden)
President Donald Trump hugs the U.S. flag during CPAC 2019 on March 2, 2019 in National Harbor, Maryland. The American Conservative Union hosts the annual Conservative Political Action Conference to discuss conservative agenda. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Trump is expected to address CPAC on Sunday in what will be his first major public appearance since his presidential term ended.
In a Wednesday press conference, Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney questioned whether the former president should be speaking at CPAC and said Trump should retire from politics. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy took issue with the statement, saying “I don’t believe in cancel culture, whether it be Republican or Democrat.”