Pretend Trump’s on The Ballot: Will First-Ever Midterm Convention in Dallas Backfire?

TV viewers will have a choice next Thursday night: Tune into a primetime NFL game between two 2025 playoff teams, the LA Rams and San Francisco 49ers, or flip on what will likely be a 90-minute speech by President Trump at the first ever midterm GOP convention.Republicans will hold the convention, which usually takes place only before presidential elections, in Dallas. But a growing chorus of party strategists worries the two-day showcase may do little to help their candidates — and could even hurt their chances of maintaining control of Congress.Mr. Trump and his inner circle conceived of the convention last year, seeing the gathering as a way to fire up Republicans a couple months before the midterms. But the bogged-down war against Iran, coupled with soaring gas and grocery store prices, has made Mr. Trump far less popular, even among his once-faithful MAGA base.A UMass poll released Monday found Mr. Trump’s overall approval has plunged to just 32 percent, as Republican approval has dropped 14 points since March. Nearly a fifth (17 percent) of Trump voters say they wouldn’t vote for him again.“I’ve heard people say, ‘Why are we doing this? What’s going on?’” Reb Wayne, a Texas-based Republican consultant, told CNN. “It was a good idea at the time, but as we’ve gotten closer to it, I’m not sure it’s going to serve much benefit.”Said an unnamed GOP donor: “I don’t understand the programming still. It seems to just be five hours of speeches.”The convention, set for September 9 and 10, will feature dozens of speakers, with Vice President J.D. Vance delivering the keynote on the first night and President Trump closing the event with a primetime address at 9 p.m. Eastern time on the second. Organizers are billing it as a “primetime showcase” of the administration’s accomplishments, designed to contrast what a party memo called Republican “common sense” with Democratic “extremism.” Yes, you can expect the word “communist” to be uttered often. For the first time in history, the convention will open to the public, with a limited number of free tickets distributed through a lottery.Party leaders see the convention as a way to unify Republicans around a “simple message” ahead of November’s midterm elections. According to a messaging memo reviewed by The Daily Wire, the party wants to emphasize border security, tax cuts, and a “common-sense approach to education.”“President Trump and Republicans have delivered historic results for the American people, and every hour of this historic convention will tell that story,” Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters told the website. “Over two action-packed days, we will take Americans through the defining issues of our party’s agenda and what is at stake in November.”Each hour will carry its own theme. Night one, September 9, will spotlight the Working Families Tax Cuts, efforts to root out waste and fraud, and healthcare wins such as the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. Speakers will draw a “Two Visions for America” contrast with Democrats, push the SAVE America Act — Mr. Trump’s election-reform initiative — and introduce candidates in target districts. The night will also highlight “No Tax on Tips,” the enhanced Child Tax Credit, border enforcement, religious freedom, and Mr. Trump’s “America First trade policy,” before Mr. Vance’s remarks.Night two, September 10, opens with families benefiting from “No Tax on Tips, Overtime, and Social Security” and covers school choice, returned hostages, an anti-corruption Capitol Hill trading ban, food security, and border security. The evening will honor Charlie Kirk on the one-year anniversary of his assassination, spotlight Angel Parents and border victims, and mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11 with families of first responders — all building toward Mr. Trump’s keynote address.Not everyone is convinced the move is a good idea. On top of the NFL conflict — the first game of the season will also be underway before Mr. Vance starts his speech — the convention comes just before the 9/11 anniversary, and critics fear the event will read as just another campaign rally.The numbers underscore the unease. Aggregate polling from Real Clear Polling shows Republicans trailing Democrats by roughly 6.4 points in congressional matchups, while Mr. Trump’s net approval rating averages -16.8 points. Some Trump-endorsed candidates, including Kentucky’s Ralph Alvarado and Texas’s Carlos De La Cruz, have quietly scrubbed the president’s name from their websites.The Senate math runs through the Midwest. If Democrats flip Republican-held seats in Ohio and Iowa while holding Michigan, they would net the four seats needed for control. Republican senators in farm country are especially rattled by tariffs, high diesel and fertilizer costs, and imported beef.“He’s in serious trouble in farm country,” Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told Politico. “He being Trump — and Trump is us. I’m not very optimistic.”With gas prices climbing and Mr. Trump’s popularity sagging, some strategists fear the damage may already be locked in. But the president says keeping his name front and center could help the GOP win in the midterms.“The problem that we have is, they say that Trump does great when he’s on the ballot, but when he’s not on the ballot, his people don’t come, and they don’t vote for senators, congressmen, and other Republicans,” Mr. Trump said at a rally in South Carolina earlier this month. “So what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot.”

Pretend Trump’s on The Ballot: Will First-Ever Midterm Convention in Dallas Backfire?

Pretend Trump’s on The Ballot: Will First-Ever Midterm Convention in Dallas Backfire?

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