President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the Republican Party will stage a convention in Dallas this September to rally voters before the midterms.
“We are going to celebrate the great American comeback, and the incredible successes of the American people who transformed our country through the America first agenda,” Trump said, promising a “historic event.”
Traditionally, parties hold national conventions only during presidential election years, but Trump has pitched the September event as an opportunity to showcase his Administration’s “achievements.”
The President listed “stronger” border controls and efforts to eliminate taxes on tipsas examples. He also noted that “oil prices are dropping sharply, even as we de-nuclearize Iran.”
Set to take place from Sept. 9-10, the “rally like none other” will feature “innovators, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, first responders, and job creators.” Names of individual speakers have yet to be announced.
“America’s 250th Birthday is approaching, and together, we are building the foundation for the next 250 years of American greatness,” Trump concluded. “The Golden Age of America has only just begun.”
Trump had floated the idea of a midterm convention last September, and the Republican National Committee later opted to clear the way, with RNC chairman Joe Gruters referring to the event as a “Trumpapalooza.”
The November midterms will undoubtedly be a test for the Republican Party, with GOP members likely worried about how much ground could be lost. Control of the House and Senate is at stake, as Republicans hold thin margins in both chambers of Congress. The narrow majority in the House is of particular concern.
Earlier this year, Trump floated the idea of canceling the midterms, only for the White House to later insist he was “joking.”
Trump has also expressed concern about potentially being impeached, should Congress return to the hands of Democrats.
“You gotta win the midterms. Because if we don’t win the midterms, they’ll find a reason to impeach me,” he told House Republicans in January. “I’ll get impeached.”
The convention lands at a politically sensitive moment for the President.
Former prominent members of the MAGA movement have argued that Trump abandoned his “America first” agenda by embarking on the Iran war, despite campaigning on a promise to avoid dragging the U.S. into foreign conflicts.
Despite the President dismissing high gas prices caused by the war as “peanuts,”the financial impact has prompted some voters to sour on Trump.
Apoll by the Economist and YouGov, conducted between June 26-29, found that 58% of U.S. adult citizens disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as President.
The convention’s location in Texas is also significant, as it’s where the Trump-backed Attorney General Ken Paxton will face Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico in November.
“No further proof is needed that the national and Texas GOP are freaking the f*** out than this: they’re not only holding their first-ever midterm convention, they’re holding it right here in our state,” argued Texas state Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez.
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