Inside Bannon and Burra’s post-CPAC blowout

National Harbor, Maryland

“CPAC 2024 was a HUGE success!,” the conference’s account tweeted this morning. Cockburn isn’t sure how they’re measuring that: the gathering was decidedly muted when compared with previous Trump-era affairs. After the former president spoke on Saturday and Argentinian president Javier Milei offered attendees an economics lecture, Steve Bannon closed out proceedings. He led the CPAC crowd in chants of “Trump won, Trump won, Trump won” and branding Joe Biden “a usurper in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”

Bannon has never feared courting controversy. Former British prime minister Liz Truss, who Cockburn saw wheeling her bags through the lobby of the Gaylord National Resort yesterday evening, returns home to calls that she should be censured or lose her post-office salary for the crime of sharing a platform with him. The former White House chief strategist has evolved into something of an intellectual godfather for the populist right — a role he reveled in by hosting a post-conference bash at Tom’s Watch Bar, three blocks from the convention center.

The party, hosted by Bannon’s podcast-turned TV show War Room, kicked off at 8 p.m.; it could have served as a South Carolina GOP primary watch party. But that race was called at 7 p.m. on the dot, with Trump delivering his victory speech before proceedings started. Instead the many big screens at Tom’s were rolling Newsmax re-runs, along with eclectic sports such as midget boxing, slap fighting and ostrich racing. 

The New York Young Republicans’ Vish Burra was on the door, serving as Bannon’s Silvio Dante. Burra is perhaps best known for his work on the Hill for Congressmen Matt Gaetz and George Santos, his role helping Hunter Biden’s laptop make its way to the New York Post and serving as a producer and guest on War Room. Burra has also enjoyed floating himself as a possible congressional candidate to mainstream reporters. Last night he made a point of expressing an interest in his home seat, New York’s 11th district, within earshot of Cockburn and other hacks from the New York Times and Sunday Times of London. That seat is currently occupied by Republican Nicole Malliotakis.

Guests who were able to secure a wristband from Burra were treated to ambient elevator house music, three hours of free drinks and a buffet spread containing cheeseburger sliders, fried chicken with cornbread pancakes, mac ’n’ cheese and spinach and artichoke dip.

The alcohol flowed freely: servers circulated with trays of old fashioned, lemon drops and shots. At one point a buoyant Bannon took to the mic and urged the party to drink up, to cheers from the 300 or so guests.

Along with Bannon, other big names spotted were Nigel Farage, Project Veritas’s James O’Keefe, Newsmax’s John Bachmann and John Tabacco and Tucker biographer Chadwick Moore. There were also journalists from outlets as varied as NBC, the American Conservative, New York magazine and the Washington Examiner.

A number of younger guests were dressed in rather effete European national dress. One attendee, meanwhile, was showing off a “gold” (bronze) MAGA hat — which he’d brought to the conference hoping to sell for $15,000 a pop. He’d had no such luck thus far.

Cockburn staggered into the night, well-oiled, at just past midnight. With more evenings like this one, there might be hope for CPAC yet.