The organizers of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference passed on Governor Chris Christie as a speaker but have invited Donald Trump to speak at this year's conference.

Donald Trump
Donald Trump (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
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"Donald Trump is an American patriot with a massive following among small-government conservatives. I look forward to welcoming him back to the CPAC stage next week," American Conservative Union chair Al Cardenas told the Washington Post.

 

He described Trump's previous CPAC appearance as "hugely popular" and that popularity to increase. The Washington Post recalls attendees booing Trump especially when he was critical of Senator Ron Paul's candidacy during his last appearance in 2011.

Christie was the keynote speaker at last year's CPAC conference  “CPAC is like the all-star game for professional athletes; you get invited when you have had an outstanding year,” Cardenas told  National Journal. “Hopefully (Christie) will have another all-star year in the future, at which time we will be happy to extend an invitation. This is a conservative conference, not a Republican Party event.”

Christie Criticized From The Right

Governor Chris Christie
Governor Chris Christie at the 2012 CPAC conference in Chicago (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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The Governor has been under fire from conservatives since Superstorm Sandy for working closely with President Obama to bring financial relief to New Jersey and being photographed embracing Obama after he stopped campaigning for fellow Republican Mitt Romney's candidacy.

 

He has also been criticized for his statements about gun control, accepting Medicaid money as part of Obamacare and pushing Congressional support for the Sandy relief bills that are seen as being full of political pork by conservatives.

Romney in an interview with Fox News on Sunday said he blames himself, not Christie for his loss.

Trump, meanwhile, has been vocal in questioning President Obama's citizenship and challenging him to release his college transcripts. He offered to donate $5million to a charity of the President's choice if he released both the transcripts and his passport application.

Trump has also been active tweeting his views against the Environmental Protection Agency and Obama's handling of the situation in Somalia and the federal budget.

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