Johnson is the star attraction. But the conference is otherwise more of a low-wattage affair, with secondary speakers like recent Romanian presidential candidate George Simion and largely mid-ranking officials from Austria, Belgium, Georgia, Cyprus, Croatia, Serbia and Germany. There are no listed speakers from the Trump administration. A White House spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
For the Europeans, it’s a chance to bask in the success of a kindred party at the peak of its power — and maybe have a little Trumpian aura rub off on them.
“The MAGA movement is extremely important for Romanians, especially for the conservative-patriotic side, those who identify with MAGA values and policies,” said Simion, who is the leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, which has a big polling lead over centrist rivals, according to POLITICO’s Poll of Polls. He said he looked forward to seeing Johnson, whom he met at Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2025 and called “one of our friends in Washington.”
Luna has cultivated ties with like-minded European lawmakers, as have a handful of other House Republicans. David Leatherwood, Luna’s spokesperson, said those meetings were “focused on understanding the political climate in Europe, hearing concerns firsthand and fostering candid dialogue on transatlantic issues.”
This week’s conference, he added, would promote dialogue on energy, free speech and immigration. Supporters have described it as a “counter World Economic Forum” event, with Leatherwood saying that those types of conferences “have actively left ‘normal’ citizens out of the conversations regarding policy, both nationally and internationally, that directly affect them.”
He also raised “growing concerns in Europe over censorship, political exclusion and the narrowing of acceptable public debate” and said Luna “believes it is important to hear directly from opposition and dissident voices” on the topics that will be discussed during the conference.
