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Trump pulls out of CPAC

Donald Trump has pulled out of the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, opting to campaign in Kansas and Florida instead.

Very disappointed @realDonaldTrump has decided at the last minute to drop out of #CPAC -- his choice sends a clear message to conservatives. — CPAC (@CPAC) March 4, 2016

The Trump campaign released a statement to reporters announcing that it would be in "Witchita, Kanasas [sic] for a major rally on Saturday prior to Caucus."

"He will also be speaking at the Kansas Caucus and then departing for Orlando, Florida and a crowd of approximately 20,000 people or more," the campaign said. "Because of this, he will not be able to speak at CPAC as he has done for many consecutive years."

"Mr. Trump would like to thank [American Conservative Union Chairman] Matt Schlapp and all of the executives at CPAC and looks forward to returning to next year, hopefully as President of the United States," the statement continued.

He had been scheduled to speak at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

Speaking to Fox Business, Schlapp said he was disappointed by Trump's decision.

"I think this is a whiff, I think it’s a mistake, it’s a missed opportunity. The people in this hall, this packed hall behind me are going to be very disappointed," Schlapp said.

Asked whether Trump's decision hinged on time allotted to speak, Schlapp characterized it as sticking to the ground rules.

“It was about the fact that every candidate has to follow our ground rules. We made very clear with him, you’re allowed to give a speech, but you have to answer questions," he explained. "I think that’s fair. And I think here’s the question as the frontrunner he still has to follow all these rules and there are certain ways that we deploy and certain decorum we have at CPAC, and everyone has got to follow them because we’re being fair because this is such a critical moment for conservatives in this nominating contest.”

While Trump had spoken at past CPAC events, his speaking slot this time drew backlash from conservative critics who had accused event organizers of being in the tank for the Manhattan real-estate magnate. Trump accepted his invitation within 15 minutes after Schlapp emailed it to him, while other candidates dithered on participation.

POLITICO reported Wednesday that Trump has donated more than $100,000 to the ACU, including a $50,000 check in 2015.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, who has already said he would not support Trump as the Republican nominee, greeted the news with a prediction about the candidate's commitment to conservatives.

PREDICTION: not the last time @realdonaldtrump will abandon conservatives MT"Trump drops out of #CPAC

sends clear message to conservatives" — Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) March 4, 2016

On Thursday, National Review reported on efforts to stage a walkout during Trump's speech, coming from a tri-corn hat-wearing CPAC attendee from Georgia named William Temple. “We’re having massive walkout on Saturday when [Trump] comes to speak,” Temple, who also led a walkout on Jeb Bush's speech in 2015, told the outlet. “We already have over 300 people who are going to get up at one time to go the bathroom.”

“We’re not going to put up with him,” Temple continued, according to the report. “He reminds me of Mussolini — he was quoting Mussolini the other day and didn’t even know it. But this man is totally consumed with self. He wants glory. He wants to be seen as this potentate that everyone he loves. He can’t stand it if anyone opposes him.”

Still dressed in revolutionary-era garb Friday, Temple cheered the news that Trump would be skipping CPAC, yelling aloud for all who could hear that his planned walkout — which he said would've led to a 1,000-person exodus from the auditorium — was the cause of the schedule change.

"We won!" he yelled, and found some scattered support among the conservative crowd.

Temple, though, said his rebellion against Trump has a limit. If he's the nominee, he said, he'd vote for the man.

"What choice will we have?" he wondered.

Kyle Cheney contributed reporting from National Harbor, Maryland.