At CPAC 2026, conservative moms voiced support for Trump’s Iran war—even saying Barron Trump should serve if troops deploy, sparking debate. (Photo by YouTube/Getty Images)
The 2026 Conservative Political Action Conference is underway, but longtime attendees say the event doesn’t quite feel the same this year.
For more than a decade, President Donald Trump has been the conference’s biggest draw. This time around, however, he’s nowhere to be found. Instead of taking the CPAC stage, Trump is reportedly spending the weekend in Florida, though allies have hinted at the possibility of a surprise appearance.
His absence is noticeable. Vice President JD Vance isn’t scheduled to attend either, and much of the Republican Party’s congressional leadership is skipping the gathering as well.
That leaves a lineup of speakers that includes Rep. Chip Roy, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and former Rep. Matt Gaetz. For grassroots activists who still flock to CPAC every year, though, the event remains an important meeting place for conservative politics and culture.
And this year, one issue dominates the conversation: the war with Iran.
Across the conference floor, attendees are debating what the conflict could mean for the United States—and for their own families. The war has exposed divisions within the conservative movement, particularly between younger conservatives wary of foreign wars and older supporters who view the conflict as necessary.
One moment that captured attention came during a conversation between two conservative mothers and reporter Rosa Flores of MS Now.
One of the women described how her views about the war had changed after initially opposing it.
“I started off pretty upset with the war. I have an 18-year-old son, so that really hit close to home. We had to get him registered for the Selective Service and everything, and so I wasn’t happy about it.
But then I saw these three boys who were publicly hanged in Iran. That regime has been threatening Americans and has been killing Americans for years. If my son were called to go, I would still support the war.”
The exchange highlighted a complicated reality for many parents at the conference. Supporting military action can feel very different when your own children could be affected.
Flores later shared another striking moment from the conversation when she returned to the studio to speak with anchor Chris Jansing.
“Now, Chris, I asked that mother, what about Barron Trump? She was there with her friend, and both mothers agreed that if soldiers were sent to war, if this woman’s son was sent to war, they both agreed that Barron Trump should also serve in the military. And I said, ‘Well, do you think that he would actually do that?’ And they said, well, they think that he would do the right thing.”
Barron Trump, the president’s youngest son, is now 20 years old. Like most American men between 18 and 25, he would typically be required to register with Selective Service, the system that maintains records of potential military draftees.
There are currently no official plans for a military draft, and the U.S. armed forces remain an all-volunteer force. Still, the idea of who might be called to serve in a future conflict is clearly weighing on some Americans.
The discussion also touches on a long-running criticism of political leaders whose families have not served in the military. Trump himself famously avoided the Vietnam War draft decades ago, and none of his five children has served.
For now, CPAC continues with its usual mix of speeches, activism, and political networking. But compared with past years—when Trump’s presence dominated the conference stage—the mood is different.
With a war abroad and questions at home about who should fight it, the conversations happening on the convention floor may say as much about the future of the conservative movement as any speech delivered from the podium.
