DALLAS \u2014 Republicans are flocking to Texas for an unprecedented national midterm convention headlined by President Trump to turn out voters in the congressional races that will dictate the course of his final two years in office\u00a0\u2014 though some Republicans are nervous it could backfire.<\/p>\n
The two-day gathering \u2014 nicknamed \u201cTrump-a-Palooza\u201d \u2014 offers free publicity for Republicans as they attempt to brand Democrats as \u201csocialists\u201d and features a slew of fundraising events to help the party boost its already large cash advantage to beat back bleak polls pointing to a possible November wipeout.<\/p>\n
Trump will speak on Wednesday and Thursday night after 9 p.m. Eastern Time \u2014 with Vice President JD Vance also giving remarks Thursday.<\/p>\n
Earlier slots <\/a>will feature Trump administration officials touting policy wins and give lesser-known figures a moment in the spotlight to court donors and build momentum before a national audience.<\/p>\n Many speakers plan to frame the election as a choice between Trump\u2019s record and the ascendant socialist wing of the Democratic Party<\/a>, sources said, as Republicans try to defy the historical trend of a president\u2019s party losing seats in a midterm.<\/p>\n The two-night Republican midterm convention in Dallas is seeking to give GOP candidates momentum ahead of Nov. 3. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s electrifying. People are excited. People are ready to go,\u201d Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters told conservative media personality Benny Johnson Tuesday, predicting that as many as 60,000 people will show up, including approved members of the public.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have 109 speakers, and it\u2019s going to be an absolutely incredible event, and we\u2019ll have a few surprises. If we\u2019re going to win the midterms, we have to do things differently.\u201d<\/p>\n Gruters said, \u201cit was President Trump\u2019s idea, and while most conventions take years to prepare, we\u2019ve turned this vision into a reality in just the last 60 days.\u201d<\/p>\n The event, however, is a gamble \u2014 with some Republican consultants close to the administration telling The Post that the event could harm vulnerable candidates by making the Nov. 3 election all about Trump at a time when polls show him with low approval ratings<\/a>.<\/p>\n The event is nicknamed \u201cTrump-a-Palooza.\u201d AP Photo\/Alex Brandon<\/p>\n It could also become an embarrassment if the NFL\u2019s opening nights \u2014 on Wednesday and Thursday<\/a> \u2014 claim more viewers than the commander-in-chief.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m all in on Republicans winning. But midterms are referendums on the president, and having the same Republicans talk even more about the administration isn\u2019t increasing our numbers,\u201d one GOP consultant said.<\/p>\n A second operative close to the White House said \u201cthe whole thing is dumb, especially to do [it] on the two opening nights [of the NFL season].\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday night, Trump will compete for the nation\u2019s attention while the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks clash in a Super Bowl rematch in a game that airs on NBC. The following night, the convention goes up against the San Francisco 49ers-Los Angeles Rams matchup on Netflix.<\/p>\n \u2018Haters will be pleasantly surprised\u2019<\/p>\n Trump is expected to rattle off a variety of feats that he often claims should deliver Republicans a mandate for the remainder of his term \u2014 including strong-arming pharmaceutical companies into lowering prices and pushing through Congress new tax breaks<\/a> on tips, overtime and Social Security payments.<\/p>\n \u201cHaters will be pleasantly surprised by the amount of policy focus in the speeches,\u201d said a person involved in planning the event.<\/p>\n \u201cThey will mention the president and the Republican Congress\u2019 victories \u2014 policy wins and tax cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n Production members stand next to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise during a rehearsal on Tuesday. AP Photo\/Tony Gutierrez<\/p>\n Incumbent presidents almost always<\/a> lose House seats in the midterms, with George W. Bush the most recent to buck the trend in 2002 as he avenged the 9\/11 attacks a year prior.<\/p>\n The GOP currently holds a tenuous five-seat edge \u2014 and the party lost 41 House seats in 2018 during Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n Trump, aware of the historical context, devised the convention \u2014 Democrats are not hosting their own midterm convention \u2014 as a way to upend the expected outcome.<\/p>\n Although a redistricting war gave Republicans an edge in a handful of districts, economic concerns in particular have dragged on the party in power \u2014 with the Iran War causing an uptick in inflation and gas prices.<\/p>\n The event seeks to drive home Trump\u2019s policy accomplishments and boost lesser-known candidates. Getty Images<\/p>\n The prime time slots after 8 p.m. Eastern time go to a mix of well-known and up-and-coming figures.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the coveted window includes Medicare and Medicaid chief Dr. Mehmet Oz, Florida gubernatorial candidate Rep. Byron Donalds, Arizona House candidate Jay Feely, Michigan House candidate Mike Bouchard and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.<\/p>\n The Thursday primetime slot includes Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Donald Trump Jr.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody wants to be there, but we\u2019re really asking only those Candidates that are in tight Races, a little up, a little down, or even, to speak,\u201d the president wrote on Truth Social <\/a>Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to save the \u2018stage\u2019 for them. We don\u2019t need people who are up 45 points, and have been in office for 30 years, as much as we love them all!\u201d<\/p>\n Skeptics fear the event makes the election too much about Trump, and that NFL games will draw attention away from the convention\u2019s speakers. Ron Sachs \u2013 CNP for NY Post<\/p>\n Candidates in tight races have chosen different approaches to the convention, which is shorter than a standard presidential-year summit.<\/p>\n Perennially vulnerable Maine Sen. Susan Collins and South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds<\/a>, whose Democrat-backed independent challenger claims to have pulled even in internal polling, are skipping the convention altogether.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both Collins and Rounds have distanced themselves from Trump\u2019s weeks-old trade war with Canada, noting the likely effect of retaliatory tariffs on their states\u2019 exports.<\/p>\n But others in competitive races aren\u2019t just showing up \u2014 they are appearing on stage<\/a>.<\/p>\n New York Rep. Mike Lawler, whose district was won by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024, and Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, who faces a tough challenge from Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown, are among the speakers.<\/p>\n