{ "archive_path": "archive/1788816629.183122", "base_url": "www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump", "basename": "republican-midterm-convention-trump", "bookmarked_date": "2026-09-07 21:30", "canonical": { "archive_org_path": "https://web.archive.org/web/www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump", "dom_path": "output.html", "favicon_path": "favicon.ico", "git_path": "git/", "google_favicon_path": "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=www.theguardian.com", "headers_path": "headers.json", "htmltotext_path": "htmltotext.txt", "index_path": "index.html", "media_path": "media/", "mercury_path": "mercury/content.html", "pdf_path": "output.pdf", "readability_path": "readability/content.html", "screenshot_path": "screenshot.png", "singlefile_path": "singlefile.html", "warc_path": "warc/", "wget_path": "www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump.html" }, "domain": "www.theguardian.com", "extension": "", "hash": "48C7JXAJ4P36EH0N46TM", "history": { "archive_org": [], "dom": [], "favicon": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--max-time", "120", "--output", "favicon.ico", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=www.theguardian.com" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-09-12T07:17:50.919820+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "favicon.ico", "pwd": "/data/archive/1788816629.183122", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-12T07:17:50.445034+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "git": [], "headers": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--head", "--max-time", "120", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-09-12T07:17:51.436757+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "headers.json", "pwd": "/data/archive/1788816629.183122", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-12T07:17:50.928340+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "htmltotext": [], "media": [], "mercury": [ { "cmd": [ "/app/node_modules/@postlight/parser/cli.js", "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump" ], "cmd_version": "1.0.0", "end_ts": "2026-09-12T07:18:05.238404+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "mercury", "pwd": "/data/archive/1788816629.183122", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-12T07:18:01.048361+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "pdf": [], "readability": [ { "cmd": [ "/app/node_modules/readability-extractor/readability-extractor", "/tmp/tmpax41vbwh", "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump" ], "cmd_version": "0.0.11", "end_ts": "2026-09-12T07:18:01.035251+00:00", "index_texts": [ "It seemed like a good idea at the time. In December 1978, Jimmy Carter, a US president besieged by inflation and energy crises, watched as thousands of Democrats descended on Memphis, Tennessee, for a rare midterm convention.\u201cIt was wild,\u201d recalls Elaine Kamarck, who attended as a 28-year-old working for the Democratic National Committee. \u201cIt became a forum for Ted Kennedy to informally announce his opposition to President Carter. There was a lot of hostility to the president there. The Democrats have sworn ever since never to do anything this stupid again.\u201dThe 1978 convention took place after midterm elections in which Democrats suffered losses but still maintained control of the House of Representatives and Senate. The party also held midterm conventions in 1974 and 1982. Kamarck, who later served in the Bill Clinton administration, adds: \u201cThe Democratic party has never thought of doing this again and, whenever it has, people like me say, \u2018No, are you absolutely crazy?\u2019\u201dRepublicans, however, did not get the memo. This week in Dallas, Texas, the party will stage a midterm convention for the first time. Donald Trump will deliver a keynote address on Wednesday and closing remarks on Thursday. Other speakers include Vice-President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney General Todd Blanche, Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and the president\u2019s son Donald Trump Jr. The convention has been billed as a \u201cprimetime showcase\u201d to boost morale, nationalise congressional elections and galvanise Republican voters.But success is far from guaranteed. The made-for-TV spectacle clashes directly with the two opening games of the American football season. A Politico website survey of more than 70 Republican candidates and members found 45 who either do not plan to go to Dallas or are still thinking about it. Some cited prior commitments while others balked at the $25,000 price of attending.Unlike conventions in a presidential election year, delegates will not be making party rules or drawing up a policy platform. \u201cThis is essentially a Trump rally that they\u2019re calling a midterm convention,\u201d said Kamarck, now a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to get enthusiasm among their base because that\u2019s what they need for November. Basically, this is a Trump show.\u201dThat ambition probably made sense when the midterm convention was first mooted. Republican voters are historically slow to turn out when Trump is not on the ballot. By putting himself on the marquee, the president \u2013 who defied the odds to win the White House in 2024 \u2013 is hoping to narrow the enthusiasm gap.Among those hoping for a boost from Trump in Texas is Senate candidate Ken Paxton, whose history of scandals \u2013 including an affair and securities-fraud indictment \u2013 could prove costly against the Democratic rising star James Talarico.But now it appears the plan could backfire. Trump\u2019s approval rating is \u200cat 33%, the lowest point of his political career, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll last week. Democrats seem more fired up about the midterms with 46% describing themselves as \u201cvery enthusiastic\u201d \u200babout voting in November, compared with 31% of Republicans.Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill, warns that building a midterm convention around a failing president is tantamount to \u201cpolitical suicide\u201d.\u201cIt is an incredibly risky strategy for any Republican at this point to hitch his wagon to Donald Trump,\u201d she explained. \u201cOn every issue that Trump was once strong on he is underwater, from the economy to immigration.\u201dSetmayer, co-founder of the political action committee the Seneca Project, added: \u201cThe idea that he\u2019s going to excite people is flawed at this point, given the polling numbers in Donald Trump\u2019s own constituency. They\u2019re not inspired and this vanity convention is not going to change that with 60 days to go to the election. If anything, it\u2019s going to remind people of how dissatisfied they are under Donald Trump\u2019s second term.\u201dThere are further signs that the president could be more of a curse than a blessing. Some candidates are quietly scrubbing his likeness from their websites in a tactical retreat. In Texas, candidate Carlos De La Cruz replaced \u201cTRUMP CONSERVATIVE\u201d with \u201cPROVEN CONSERVATIVE\u201d on his homepage, erasing a line about being \u201cready to be President Trump\u2019s wingman in Congress\u201d for a platitude about \u201cservant leaders\u201d.In Kentucky, Ralph Alvarado pivoted to \u201cINDEPENDENT LEADERSHIP\u201d. In Nevada, Martin O\u2019Donnell, a music composer best known for his work on the Halo video game series, no longer features his Trump endorsement photo on his website. In south Texas, Eric Flores replaced \u201cSUPPORT PRESIDENT TRUMP\u2019S AGENDA\u201d with \u201cLOWER THE COST OF LIVING\u201d. In Alaska, Nick Begich edited his homepage to a simple: \u201cWe have delivered for Alaska.\u201dElsewhere, candidates are actively breaking ranks. The Wisconsin congressman and gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany publicly rebuked Trump\u2019s renaming of Lake Ontario as \u201cLake America\u201d and opposed importing cheaper ground beef. The Michigan congressman Tom Barrett is campaigning on his votes to limit Trump\u2019s war in Iran, highlighting his support for the War Powers Resolution.Trump, however, appears unmoved and indifferent. Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University in Washington, said: \u201cHe doesn\u2019t care about any of these other candidates. He only cares about two things when it comes to the midterms: one, that he won\u2019t be investigated and two, that he can get his appointments through the Senate. He demands loyalty for everyone else and gives loyalty to no one.\u201dA Republican source said at least 100 members of Congress were expected to attend the convention and more than 20,000 tickets had been distributed, ensuring a packed arena.The source denied that Trump would dominate proceedings, insisting that the convention would aim to \u201cenergise our base, inform folks there is an election and highlight the contrast between what Republicans are offering \u2013 which is a secure border, safe communities, cutting taxes, giving Americans more freedom \u2013 and what the Democrats are offering, which is reopening the borders, repealing the tax cuts, investigating, obstructing, impeaching President Trump and not having an agenda beyond that\u201d.The source also rejected reports that Republican candidates were distancing themselves from the president, saying: \u201cWe have Republican candidates across the country who want the president in their districts. You see it with Mike Lawler, who\u2019s one of two Republicans left in Congress still in a district that Kamala Harris won in 2024. I believe the president has campaigned for him in his district twice. Mike Lawler does a very good job of embracing the president\u2019s policies. He deviates on certain issues when needed.\u201dThe convention schedule will also aim to steady the ship. The first night will include segments focused on tax cuts, healthcare affordability, the border, trade and domestic manufacturing, with appearances by \u201cworkers and everyday Americans\u201d.The second will highlight families benefiting from policies like no taxes on tips, overtime and social security, as well as overseas prisoners who have been released, border security, efforts to lower prescription drug costs and a tribute to the slain rightwing activist Charlie Kirk.The convention will also try to appeal to the \u201cMaha\u201d \u2013 or Make America healthy again \u2013 wing of the party, with a segment targeting corporate influence in the treatment of chronic diseases. And it will mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks with families of first responders.But the program makes no mention of any programming related to foreign policy or the deeply unpopular war in Iran.Lichtman observed: \u201cPeople aren\u2019t buying what they have to say, which is things are getting better, it\u2019s the golden age, prices are coming down, we\u2019re winning the Iranian war, our immigration policy is great. They\u2019re not gonna buy it just because it\u2019s a convention. Plus, as we know, Trump always goes off script and that\u2019s never helpful to his party.\u201dBut Republicans do seem to believe they have an ace up their sleeves. Trump and his allies are expected to go in hard on a theme pointing to the primary election successes of democratic socialists and casting Democrats as godless communists and Marxists who pose an existential threat to the American way of life.Charlie Sykes, a conservative broadcaster and author of How the Right Lost Its Mind, said: \u201cThe midterms will either be a referendum on Donald Trump, in which case they will be disastrous for the Republicans, or Republicans will hope that they can make this a referendum on the radicalism of Democrats, so I\u2019m guessing that will be a major theme.\u201cThe big question is, who is going to be paying any attention to this? Who is going to be watching this other than the hardcore base, the already convinced? I have a very hard time imagining independent voters tuning in to see the Trumpist pageantry.\u201dBut commentators believe that the convention, with its potential to draw primetime TV viewers and generate viral clips, could make a difference in the margins. Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said: \u201cIt might increase Maga\u2019s turnout. That\u2019s the only positive in this thing potentially for Republicans.\u201cIt\u2019s not going to change any minds but it might convince the Maga people, \u2018Well, I don\u2019t normally vote when our hero is not on the ballot but if this is what Donald wants me to do, I\u2019m going to pitch in and help.\u2019 But it\u2019s not going to help that much.\u201dThe midterm convention could have an intriguing subplot. Along with Vance, the Texas senator Ted Cruz and other potential 2028 presidential contenders will be in attendance for what could be an early audition. Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center thinktank in Washington, said: \u201cAnybody who looks in the mirror and sees a president looking back at him or her, if those people are speakers, it will be a chance for them to make an impression.\u201dSuch aspirants would be wise to tread carefully, however, since Trump is not likely to cede the limelight willingly. Sykes added: \u201cIt is a Trump-a-palooza and once again Donald Trump insists on being \u2013 what was the old phrase about Teddy Roosevelt? \u2013 the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral.\u201cHe wants to make the midterms all about himself despite the fact that he\u2019s reaching the Nixon line in terms of polling unpopularity. It\u2019s very much on brand except that right now, with every day we get closer to the midterms, Trump\u2019s narcissism becomes a greater challenge to Republicans who want to survive what looks like a blue wave.\u201d" ], "output": "readability", "pwd": "/data/archive/1788816629.183122", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-12T07:17:58.561860+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "screenshot": [], "singlefile": [], "title": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--max-time", "120", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-09-12T07:17:58.554168+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "Republican midterm convention will be \u2018Trumpist pageantry\u2019 \u2013 at the party\u2019s own risk | Republicans | The Guardian", "pwd": "/data/archive/1788816629.183122", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-12T07:17:58.503314+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "wget": [ { "cmd": [ "wget", "--no-verbose", "--adjust-extension", "--convert-links", "--force-directories", "--backup-converted", "--span-hosts", "--no-parent", "-e", "robots=off", "--timeout=120", "--restrict-file-names=windows", "--warc-file=/data/archive/1788816629.183122/warc/1789197471", "--page-requisites", "--user-agent=Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) wget/GNU Wget 1.21.3", "--compression=auto", "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump" ], "cmd_version": "GNU Wget 1.21.3", "end_ts": "2026-09-12T07:17:58.494528+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump.html", "pwd": "/data/archive/1788816629.183122", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-12T07:17:51.446276+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ] }, "icons": null, "is_archived": true, "is_static": false, "latest": { "archive_org": null, "dom": null, "favicon": "favicon.ico", "git": null, "media": null, "pdf": null, "screenshot": null, "singlefile": null, "title": "Republican midterm convention will be \u2018Trumpist pageantry\u2019 \u2013 at the party\u2019s own risk | Republicans | The Guardian", "warc": null, "wget": "www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump.html" }, "link_dir": "/data/archive/1788816629.183122", "newest_archive_date": "2026-09-12T07:18:01.048361+00:00", "num_failures": 0, "num_outputs": 6, "oldest_archive_date": "2026-09-12T07:17:50.445034+00:00", "path": "/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump", "schema": "Link", "scheme": "https", "snapshot_id": "9416c6bb-e067-48ef-a59f-d30f2c631653", "sources": [ "/data/sources/1788816629-import.txt" ], "tags": ",drudge,lead,war-wiki,pool", "tags_str": "drudge,lead,war-wiki,pool", "timestamp": "1788816629.183122", "title": "Republican midterm convention will be \u2018Trumpist pageantry\u2019 \u2013 at the party\u2019s own risk | Republicans | The Guardian", "updated": "2026-09-12T07:17:50.444843+00:00", "updated_date": "2026-09-12 07:17", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/republican-midterm-convention-trump" }