It had to happen, sooner or later. I’m no longer a virgin. For the first time, I agreed to appear on the program at last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor. Of course, I was the sacrificial liberal lamb.

All I did was mention House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare House lawmakers reach deal to avert shutdown Centrist Democrats 'strongly considering' discharge petition on GOP PPP bill MORE (D-Calif.), and the hall erupted in boos. Same, if not longer and more intense, reaction to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezHouse passes bill to avert shutdown Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' The Memo: Dems face balancing act on SCOTUS fight MORE (D-N.Y.). And No. 1 at CPAC: Don’t dare utter a critical word about President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE, or you may not get out alive. Silence met fellow panelist Charlie Hurt’s lament that fiscal conservatives in Congress were doing nothing about our $22 trillion national debt. But when I agreed with him, while noting that $2 trillion of that debt resulted from Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, the room resounded with catcalls.

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Indeed, facts have little room on the CPAC agenda. Nowhere was that more evident than in Saturday’s closing session with Trump. You almost had to feel sorry for CPAC faithful. He took the podium and refused to leave — as if he were desperate to get from supporters in Oxon Hill, Md., the love he failed to get from Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. Trump rambled on, unscripted, for over two hours and said absolutely nothing except a whole string of lies – exposed by several news organizations, including The New York Times and Chicago Tribune.

He claimed, yet again, that his inaugural celebration attracted the biggest crowd in history. As has been proven over and over again, with photographic evidence: Wrong! He claimed that military spending had reached levels “nobody’s ever heard of.” Wrong! For several years, Congress approved more money

for the military under former President Obama.

He claimed that only 3 percent of detained unauthorized immigrants ever “come back for a trial.” Wrong! In 2017, 72 percent of them actually showed up.

He claimed that “we never have empty seats” at any Trump rally. Wrong! Yes, Trump does draw huge, enthusiastic crowds. But, on several occasions, he’s notably complained about empty chairs. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, in May 2017 Trump drew a crowd of about 9,500 people in an arena that holds 11,431.

The list goes on. He said Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonButtigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice Senate GOP sees early Supreme Court vote as political booster shot Poll: 51 percent of voters want to abolish the electoral college MORE won 223 electoral votes in 2016; she won 232. He said our trade deficit with China is $500 billion; in 2017, it was $336 billion. Our trade deficit with the rest of the world in 2017 was $553 billion; he said it was $800 billion. He took credit for delivering the Choice program for veterans; it was signed into law by Obama in 2014.

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He even complained about being a prisoner in the White House “for months and months” because of the government shutdown, which began on Dec. 22. Actually, in weeks surrounding the shutdown, he traveled to Kansas City, Mo.; Philadelphia; Argentina; Mississippi; Florida; Iraq; Germany; Texas and New Orleans. Maybe he forgot.

Finally, Trump claimed that, under the “Green New Deal,” whenever the wind stops blowing, there would be no more electricity. Ridiculous! The Green New Deal calls not for eliminating traditional sources of energy, but for expanding renewal sources – which already accounted for 17.1 percent of our electricity in 2018. To suggest otherwise is pure scare tactics.

Trump went on like that for over two hours, in the longest speech of his presidency. This sparked some Twitter followers to compare him to Castro and call him “Fidel Trump.” Which isn’t fair. True, Castro often droned on for over two hours. But at least Castro knew what he was talking about.

Press is host of “The Bill Press Show” on Free Speech TV and author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”