The President spoke for more than two hours at the annual gathering of right-wing activists, and also touched on foreign policy during a fiery speech to his conservative base.
The Texas senator has won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Donald Trump, who canceled his appearance at the last minute, finished a distant third.
The GOP presidential front-runner was expected to face a hostile crowd at the CPAC gathering, with some threatening a walk-out of his Saturday morning speech.