Trump opens a convention that not everyone wants to attend

An unusual Republican Party convention begins tonight in Dallas ahead of the mid-term elections due to take place in November. Pushed through at all costs by the president, the aim is to galvanise voters and persuade them to vote through a full-scale spectacle in which Trump is the undisputed star. According to Axios, the President will in fact deliver two speeches, one today and one tomorrow: alongside Trump, the list of speakers is long and includes prominent government figures such as Vice-President Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Health Secretary Robert Kennedy. Among the party’s heavyweights, Senate Majority Leader John Thune is not expected to take the stage; Trump has attacked him on several occasions for failing to push through the controversial plan to amend the electoral process known as the Save America Act. The organisers, however, have indicated that they are still adding names to the programme.

As well as the spectacle captured on camera, the Republicans would like to use the event to organise a massive fundraising drive ahead of November. Donors present at the arena will in fact be able to pay $88,000 for a photo with the president and $35,000 for one with his vice-president. Those willing to spend $250,000 will also be able to take part in a round-table discussion with the president himself as the guest of honour. According to Joshua Blank, research director at the Texas Politics Project, interviewed by The Hill, “this convention seems more like a reaction to concerns about Republican voter enthusiasm than an actual plan”. This is demonstrated by the fact that, despite a year of discussion within the party about the possibility of holding a convention, the details have only emerged at the last minute. This is because control of the programme lay directly with the president, who is said to have personally decided the running order for both evenings. Furthermore, the chosen date means the convention will take place at the same time as the first match of the American football season – a television event far more popular with the general US public.

Not everyone, however, is convinced that this is a good idea. The Democrats have held three conventions prior to mid-term elections – the last of these in 1982 – and none was a success. In particular, the 1978 convention was used by the then Senator Ted Kennedy to demonstrate his opposition to President Carter, deeply dividing the party. This is something that should not happen today, as the White House is meticulously controlling the event’s programme. The problem, if anything, is the opposite: with Trump’s approval rating falling ever lower, it remains to be seen how many Republicans will want to be seen to be close to the president and to endorse the results of his term in office. For some, in fact, Trump’s name no longer seems to be a guarantee of success. In Texas, Carlos de la Cruz, a candidate in a battleground constituency who is also due to speak at the event, has changed the homepage of his website – which previously featured the words ‘Trump conservative’ – to ‘Proven conservative’, quietly setting aside his association with the president.

A survey by Politico, which interviewed more than seventy Republican candidates, revealed that as many as forty-five of them either do not intend to attend or are considering not attending. Some cite prior commitments, such as fundraising events in their constituencies that were already planned before the convention dates were finalised; others have cited weddings and other family events as excuses; whilst others are put off by the entry fee for members of Congress, who must pay $25,000 to attend. Candidates in the most vulnerable constituencies would rather continue their election campaigns than attend a rally for a president whose popularity is in crisis and who is in freefall in the polls. One MP even told Politico that the convention itself is a waste of time, given that the focus should be on trying to persuade independent voters to vote, and they do not watch the president’s show.

Trump, however, carries on regardless. Convinced that the party loses votes when he is not on the ballot paper, he is trying to monopolise attention and persuade those Americans who only vote in presidential elections of the importance of turning out to vote in the mid-term elections as well. Despite what the polls say, he is convinced that a show centred on him shortly before the vote could turn the fortunes of a party in difficulty as November approaches.