Former President Donald Trump has notably not been invited to a high-level annual meeting of conservative leaders and deep-pocketed political donors, CBS News reported.
The World Forum event set for this weekend, sponsored by the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, will include Brian Deese, President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser, and other Democrats — and several Republicans who have been critical of Trump, according to CBS.
A key speaker at the secretive meeting at an exclusive hotel complex on Georgia’s Sea Island will be Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has clashed repeatedly with Trump.
Arizona’s Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who rebuffed pressure from Trump to not certify Biden’s win in his state, will also participate, according to a schedule of the event obtained by CBS.
Some controversial Trump allies — including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) — have also been invited.
The nonprofit watchdog Center for Public Integrity has described the gathering as an off-the-record retreat of GOP leaders and “mega-donors.”
Though some AEI members have supported aspects of Trump’s agenda, many appear now to be veering away from him, particularly after his repeated lies of a rigged presidential election in 2020, CBS noted.
AEI is headed by Robert Doar, a Republican and a policy expert on poverty. He has worked for Republicans and for former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Democrat who has also been a registered Republican and independent.