Fact Check: Was Donald Trump Booed During CPAC 2023 Speech?

Donald Trump headlined the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland as the former president continues his latest bid for the White House.

The former president closed the three-day CPAC event with a speech at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, on Saturday, March 4.

During his 90-minute talk, Trump vowed to end the "era of woke and weaponized government" if elected president. While criticizing a number of the Biden administration's policies, Trump said he could end the war in Ukraine if reelected.

The Claim

On Sunday night, Twitter user Kenny Akers, a Utah-based social media influencer who has more than 52,000 followers, shared a video that he said showed Trump getting booed during his CPAC speech.

"Not only did Trump give the worst speech ever at CPAC, but he was also booed while talking, this will never get old. F*** Donald Trump!" Akers tweeted.

The clip shows the former president describing how "perverts" in anti-Trump political groups have used the "names of [George] Washington and [Abraham] Lincoln to buy millions of dollars of ads" to attack him and other Republicans.

Boos from the crowd can then be heard off-screen, and Trump stops his talk amid the disruption.

The Facts

Boos from the crowd were heard during Trump's speech at CPAC on Saturday.

However, reporters at the scene stated that the boos, which occurred as Trump was hitting out at the "perverts" who pay for ads to target him, were in fact directed at a protester.

During Trump's speech, a man who gained entry into the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center managed to bring in a speaker to blast out the song "F*** Donald Trump" by the hip-hop artist YG.

Freelance journalist Andrew Leyden recorded the moment the protester was escorted out of the venue by security, with boos from the crowd heard at the exact moment of Trump's speech posted by Akers.

"During Trump's CPAC speech, a protester came in with a giant speaker playing "F@#$ Donald Trump" before being quickly escorted out by security. Not sure how he got in with that big stereo on a cart," Leyden tweeted.

Christian Datoc, the White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner, also tweeted about the boos the protester received.

"Seems like a heckler/protester was just removed from Trump's speech at @CPAC," Datoc tweeted. "Someone holding what appeared to be a boombox stood up and started playing (press believes) 'F*** Donald Trump" by the rapper @yg Crowd booed..."

Another video recorded at the scene shows the crowd chanting "USA! USA!" as the heckler is removed.

Jordan Clifford, a videographer for NewsNation, tweeted out a clip from outside the hall where Trump was speaking showing the protester being escorted away by law enforcement.

"A heckler interrupted Trump's CPAC speech blasting the song "F*** Donald Trump" from speakers so loud it was audible on the former President's microphone," Clifford tweeted. "Police have escorted him off the premises."

The Ruling

False.

The original tweet appears to have come from a critic of Donald Trump who either purposely or unknowingly misinterpreted the clip of the former president with the sound of boos from the crowd.

Video and tweets from the scene confirm the boos were directed at a protester who attempted to interrupt Trump's speech at CPAC.

FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK