Story summary
President Donald Trump's midterms convention, a two-day event in Dallas, Texas, has become a focus of attention as Republicans gather to boost enthusiasm ahead of the November elections. However, the event is facing challenges, including low attendance from top Republican leaders, with some citing conflicting obligations or concerns about being associated with an unpopular president.
Only 45 GOP lawmakers are expected to attend, and at least 10 have already skipped the convention, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) who has opted out of making a speech but will still be attending. The convention is also notable for its lackluster seating arrangements, with New York's delegation placed in a less prominent location than usual.
The event, dubbed "Trump-a-Palooza," is intended to rally voters around Trump's record despite his low approval ratings. However, some Republicans are expressing concerns about the timing and focus of the convention, which comes as the party faces increasingly grim forecasts for elections that could cost it control of Congress.
In response, Democrats have announced plans to counterprogram the event, sending their top messengers to highlight the affordability crisis and expose what they call "Trump Cartel corruption." The Democratic National Committee has also criticized the Republicans' decision to hold a midterm convention, calling it a "waste of time" when voters are already making up their minds.
Written for “Trump's Midterm Convention” on 2026-09-09,
grounded in this article and the 22 other(s) covering the same event.
Nevertheless, his party is putting him at the center of a major convention two months before the election.
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party → put → election
On Wednesday and Thursday, Republicans are gathering at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, which can hold around 20,000 spectators, for the "Republican Midterm Convention."
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which → gather → Convention
In the United States, this sort of large party conventions are normally only held before presidential elections.
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sort → hold → elections
Democrats experimented with similar gatherings in the 1970s and early 1980s, but for Republicans, the format is a first.
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format → experiment → Republicans
In Texas, they want to mobilize Trump supporters for Republican candidates.
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they → want → candidates
Republicans are heading into the campaign with an unpopular president.
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Republicans → head → president
According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, Donald Trump had an approval rating of just 33%.
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Trump → accord → %
On top of that, Democrats are currently much more energized.
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Democrats → energize → that
Nearly half of their supporters say they are especially enthusiastic about the midterm elections, compared with just 31% of Republicans.
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they → say → Republicans
Even so, the convention is entirely centered around Trump.
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convention → center → Trump
The president will appear on both nights, putting him even more prominently in the spotlight than the Republican candidates who will actually be on the ballot for the Senate and House of Representatives in November.
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who → appear → November
But for some of those candidates in particular, being seen as close with Trump poses a risk.
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seen → see → risk
A survey of more than 70 Republican candidates and lawmakers by Politico found considerable reluctance toward the convention.
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survey → find → convention
Numerous candidates in competitive districts appear to shy away from being too closely associated with the president.
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candidates → appear → president
The fact that some candidates are even avoiding their own party's convention altogether highlights the Trump dilemma.
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candidates → avoid → dilemma
On the one hand, he could mobilize the MAGA base.
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he → mobilize → base
On the other, his presence could also alienate moderate voters and even boost the opposition.
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presence → alienate → opposition
Despite the president's weak poll numbers, the convention's choreography initially focuses on a positive record of his time in office so far.
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choreography → focus → office
Topics such as the economy, border security, trade and public safety are intended to show what Trump has already accomplished from the Republicans' perspective.
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Trump → intend → perspective
With segments such as "Two Visions for America" and "The Opposition Contrast," the convention is designed as an attack on the Democrats.
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convention → design → Democrats
Republicans portray them as a party dominated by the political left and a Democratic congressional majority as a threat to Trump's policies so far.
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Republicans → portray → policies
In fact, it could block his agenda over the next two years and give Congress significantly more power to oversee and investigate the administration.
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it → block → administration
Does Trump have an answer to high living costs?
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Trump → have → costs
The convention program focuses on what Trump has already done: his tax cuts, lower drug prices and efforts to promote domestic production.
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Trump → focus → production
Whether he can offer anything substantially new in Dallas remains unclear.
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offer → offer → Dallas
Political scientist Sascha Lohmann of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) considers that unlikely.
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that → consider → Affairs
In such campaign settings, Trump's speeches are usually poorly structured and rarely outline specific policy measures, he says.
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he → structure → measures
"What we see there is almost a kind of 'stream of consciousness,'" Lohmann continues.
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Lohmann → see → consciousness
Trump tends to reveal over an extended period "whatever may happen to be going through his mind at the time.
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whatever → tend → time
The problem for Trump is that his telling of an economic success story does not match the perceptions of many Americans.
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telling → match → Americans
In a recent FT/Focaldata poll, nearly two-thirds say the US economy is heading in the wrong direction.
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economy → say → direction
A total of 57% even say their personal financial situation has worsened since Trump took office again.
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Trump → say → office
What will Trump say about the Iran war?
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Trump → say → war
Perhaps the most striking element of the planned program is that the Iran war hardly figures in it.
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war → plan → it
The convention organizers seem keen to keep the politically thorny issue out of the limelight as much as possible.
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organizers → seem → limelight
Trump himself, however, has so far taken a different approach and continues to portray the war as a success.
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Trump → take → success
Lohmann expects him to maintain that line in Dallas as well.
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him → expect → Dallas
He says that Trump's argument is "that Iran has been weakened to a greater extent than any president before him has ever managed, that its nuclear program has been wiped out and that the Iranians are now virtually begging for an end to the conflict."
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Iranians → say → conflict
Will Dallas set the stage for Trump's succession?
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Dallas → set → succession
Officially, Dallas is about the midterms, but straight after the midterm elections, talk will move on to the next presidential election.
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talk → move → election
…and 3 more, not listed.
