Donald Trump will now speak on both nights of his midterm convention as he desperately tries to drum up enthusiasm.
The president, 80, was originally supposed to headline only the second night of the two-day televised party convention in Dallas next week. The event was organized to try to give the GOP a much-needed election boost and mobilize Trump’s MAGA base, even though his name will not be on the ballot in November.
However, with scores of Republicans already confirming their intentions to skip the Sept. 9-10 event—amid concern that viewers at home would much rather watch the opening games of the NFL season airing at the same time—Trump will now deliver a speech on Wednesday and Thursday night.
“President Trump wants to set the tone for the entire convention,” a party official told Reuters about the plan.
Dozens of Republican lawmakers have confirmed that they have no intention of attending the so-called “Trumpapalooza” event in Dallas, giving an array of excuses.
These include deciding their time could be better spent campaigning in their home districts, prior engagements, and concerns about the eye-watering $25,000 entrance fee.
Others have decided it might be wise to distance themselves from the increasingly unpopular president, who is facing dire approval ratings over the Iran war and voter backlash over his handling of the economy, in order to improve their election chances.
Even Max Miller, the embattled Ohio congressman accused of domestic abuse against his ex-wife and of harming their 2-year-old daughter, has decided that not attending the convention would be better for his re-election hopes.
“I was invited, but staying home to campaign and spend time with family,” he told The New York Times.
One House Republican also told Politico they are not attending the event because it will be a “waste of time.” The lawmaker questioned why Trump and the Republican National Committee are putting on an event that only interests those already planning to support the GOP in November.
“You shouldn’t be having to rally your base at this point,” the House Republican said. “You should be trying to convince independents. Independents are not attending nor watching the midterm convention.”
Other Republicans have expressed concern about who will even watch the convention. The opening night, which will now feature the ratings-obsessed Trump, will coincide with the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks playing in a primetime rematch of this year’s Super Bowl.
On Thursday night, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will play in Melbourne, Australia, in a game streaming exclusively on Netflix.
A Republican operative familiar with the event told Reuters he had heard suggestions the convention would allow more regular people to attend because organizers had not been able to find enough Republican officials and donors to fill the seats. The White House and Trump’s team are also said to be stepping up efforts to convince Republicans to attend the convention.
Trump appearing on both nights of the midterm convention doubles the chances that he will deliver one of his typical rambling, incoherent speeches.
Some Republicans fear that, rather than using the convention to boost their election hopes, he will waste his headline appearances discussing obsessions such as his White House ballroom or damage their re-election campaigns by dismissing the affordability concerns faced by tens of millions of Americans as a “hoax.”
“I can’t control what the president’s going to say at the convention, but I can control where I’m at, what I’m doing,” Rep. Tom Barrett, a non-attendee fighting to retain his competitive Michigan seat in November, told Politico.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the Republican National Committee for comment.
