Republicans are hoping no one watches Donald Trump’s midterm convention.
As his approval rating tanks, the president has made the unusual move of planting himself front and center in the GOP’s election campaign—raising fears among members that he could further harm their chances come November.
Now, as Republicans flock to Dallas for the 80-year-old president’s dreamed-up event—where he will give two speeches—they fear it could get even worse.
“My only hope is that no one watches it since it’s competing versus NFL opening games,” one person close to the White House told Politico. “Hopefully nobody notices the embarrassing show.”
“I don’t think it will matter. No one knows about it, no enthusiasm, and it’s during football. Only D.C. people care,” they added.
“Dems are salivating. Our people are debating Israel,” a Republican lobbyist close to the White House who had been at a Republican National Convention event told Politico. “Or melting down about this or that. No one is motivated to vote. Only the DSA rise is what’s keeping us in the game.”
This is the first time the party has thrown a midterm convention, and it promises to be a spectacle, with PBS reporting plans for a balloon drop at the end. It runs on Wednesday and Thursday.
Already, signs of Republican confusion are shining through.
Eric Flores is running in Texas’ 34th district against incumbent Rep. Vicente Gonzalez. In 2024, Trump carried the district, but two years on, Flores is running without the words “Trump Endorsed” and “Republican” on his advertising signs.
His spokesperson said that he has used five different signs during the campaign and still has Trump’s endorsement pinned at the top of his X account.
“Eric Flores will take to the convention stage later this week and address the real issues that impact the lives of South Texas residents,” the representative said. “His sign design choices are not one of those issues.”
Still, it marks a change from the language back in December, when he first got Trump’s endorsement.
“President @realdonaldtrump, THANK YOU for your endorsement!!” he buzzed. “I look forward to working with you to keep our border secure, to stand up for law enforcement, and to put South Texas and America First! The fight is on, LETS WIN!”
“I’m not running away from the president,” Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who is in a battleground race, told Playbook. “I will obviously tell him my opinions on certain things. But what I think is really unique about our relationship is I’ve been able to advise him from time to time on very important issues.”
Speaking to the same outlet, a GOP operative said, “If you’re just a generic white Republican male, like Mike Collins or [Michael] Whatley… you’re struggling this cycle due to the national environment and the drag that the president’s popularity has on the ticket.”
They said some in the party were being put in a “tight spot” by the convention, but felt it was better for the GOP to try to find a way out of the jam they are facing in two months.
“Might as well try something instead of just having Trump on Twitter all day,” they said. “It’s probably a net wash at the end of the day.”
The White House hopes the event will win over voters on the fence and those less likely to cast a ballot.
“There’ll be stuff for everyone. There’ll be red meat. There’ll be good stories,” an official told PlayBook.
Trump’s approval ratings are in a bad way, with some polls putting it as low as 33 percent.
It comes as Americans face an affordability crisis that is stinging them at the pump and in the grocery store, despite Trump running on a campaign that promised to put cash back into people’s pockets.
