Trump's CPAC speech a return to 'the start of it all'

President Trump's journey to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday will bring full circle a political journey that started six years earlier with the provocative speech he delivered to the same crowd.

CPAC helped propel Trump from reality-TV stardom to the realm of Republican politics in 2011 when he used his last-minute appearance at CPAC to debut the rough draft of what would ultimately become his winning presidential platform.

Although Trump had publicly flirted with the idea of entering politics since the late 1980s, his appearance at CPAC provided the first hint of his interest in seeking the Republican nomination for president.

Just six years later, Trump returns to the CPAC stage on Friday with his party at a high-water mark and his supporters anxious for progress. After spending the past eight CPACs lamenting Democrats' hold on the government, the conservative activists who frequent the conference are ready to see their years-long struggle for power bear fruit, and it's up to Trump to make it happen.

Mark Serrano, a Republican strategist, said Trump's first CPAC appearance provided an early taste of the candor and populism that would propel him to the presidency years later.