Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — both of whom ran against Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and notably said during one of the debates that they would not support Trump as the party’s nominee if he were convicted — were keynote speakers at the Principles First Summit in Washington, D.C. this weekend.
Principles First, founded by a group of anti-Trump conservatives in 2019 as an alternative to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) which is now run by MAGA supporters, brands itself “as a voice of clarity at a time when cheap partisan tribalism has become the norm.”
With the photo below of him with a fellow Principles First speaker, the billionaire Mark Cuban who endorsed and campaigned for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris against Trump, Hutchinson wrote: “Great to talk with @mcuban at Principle First Summit yesterday where we both spoke about the future of our country. Principles matter in life, politics and governance.”
Great to talk with @mcuban at Principle First Summit yesterday where we both spoke about the future of our country. Principles matter in life, politics and governance. pic.twitter.com/5B8nk3nIWV
— Gov. Asa Hutchinson (@AsaHutchinson) February 23, 2025
Other speakers at the Principles First Summit included Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton, former RNC Chairman and Lt. Gov. of Maryland Michael Steele, Democratic Colorado Governor Jared Polis, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and three former Capitol Police Officers who were on duty on January 6, 2021, among others.
[Note: Hutchinson, who ultimately decided to sign the GOP pledge to support Trump as the party nominee regardless of his conviction, said he planned to write-in a name for president in the general election, refusing to vote for Trump or Harris. Bolton also said he planned to write-in Dick Cheney as his pick for president.]
As seen in the Principles First promotional video below, Hutchinson warned before Trump won his second term: “He’s gonna make it a pro-Putin party.”
Right before the Principles First Summit, on Thursday, Cuban amplified a Mediate article about Fox News political pundit Mark Levin who is defying Trump “by backing Zelensky and trashing Putin” and bashing Trump’s “Sick and “Un-American” foreign policy.
Mark Levin Defies Trump By Backing Zelensky and Trashing Putin — Bashes ‘Sick’ and ‘Un-American’ Foreign Policy https://t.co/v8u6wDE4E4
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) February 20, 2025
News out of the Principles First conference on the last day was shocking, as the organization announced it had received a credible bomb threat which named many of the speakers.
Here is the bomb threat at the Principles First summit in DC. I’m told by a source familiar with the situation this is the threat below (see email attached). It mentions Michael Fanone and his mother as well as other attendees at the conference. pic.twitter.com/oKoBOqoMVB
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 23, 2025