Trump wanted a celebration. His own party is calling it a disaster before it even starts.
The president announced the first-ever midterm party convention back in June, promising it would be “a truly history event.” Now, with the Dallas gathering just weeks away on September 9 and 10, Republicans are describing it in far less flattering terms.
“Shit show” is how one GOP campaign consultant put it to Puck News. The National Republican Campaign Committee is charging House members $25,000 for themselves and a plus-one just to attend, with the top tier running as high as $100,000. Invites went out late, there’s still no finalized itinerary, and the event lands just two days before the 25th anniversary of 9/11, awkward timing for photos of lawmakers in elephant hats.
“Nobody understands why we’re doing a midterm convention,” a GOP campaign strategist told reporters, calling it just “yet another opportunity to shake down corporate America.”
Reuters reached out to representatives for Republican candidates in 37 competitive House races and 8 contested Senate races to ask if they’d be attending. Out of 45 campaigns, exactly one gave a real answer. Michigan Representative Tom Barrett is skipping it entirely to stay on the campaign trail in his tough reelection fight.
“He’s in a tough reelection campaign and his voters are in his district,” his strategist explained, which is the kind of thing you say when you’d rather be anywhere else.
Even the RNC’s own strategists are warning that putting Trump front and center could backfire, given his approval numbers have been sinking across the board. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows the share of Americans who strongly approve of his performance has collapsed, including among Republicans themselves.
Trump wanted a coronation. What he’s getting is a room full of empty chairs and a very expensive bill.