Inside the Republican Midterm Convention, Where It Was ‘Trump-a-Palooza’
Amid the glitz, glamour and party atmosphere of an unusual midterm convention in Dallas, the president boasted of his accomplishments, predicted Republican victories and all but ignored the daunting political landscape his party faces this fall.
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Republicans Face Tough Midterm Odds. Their Convention Told a Different Story.
Amid the glitz, glamour and party atmosphere of an unusual midterm convention in Dallas, the president boasted of his accomplishments, predicted Republican victories and all but ignored the daunting political landscape his party faces this fall.
President Trump was the star of the first-ever Republican convention in a midterm year. It wasn’t clear how much the convention would help the candidates on the ballot.Credit...Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
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Published Sept. 10, 2026Updated Sept. 11, 2026, 10:39 a.m. ET
President Trump’s celebration of self kicked off this week in Dallas with the dazzle that he demands: a tenor garbed in an amethyst velvet smoking jacket belting out “America the Beautiful.”
The same tenor, Christopher Macchio, had sung at Mr. Trump’s last two Republican National Conventions. Perhaps recreating the scene could conjure the political magic of elections past.
Conjuring magic appeared to be a central purpose of this rare midterm gathering, with the president boasting of his accomplishments, predicting Republican victories and all but ignoring the daunting political landscape outside the arena.
The fall midterm elections have not looked promising for months. Mr. Trump’s popularity has dropped drastically, undone by an affordability crisis prompted by some of his biggest policies, including tariffs and the war in Iran. He glossed over those issues, insisting the war would end soon and gas prices would go down. It wasn’t clear how much that would help Republicans actually running.
The convention, at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas, featured some of the usual elements of presidential nominating conventions, with an inescapable Texas flair: Sequined cowboy hats. A peak heat index on Wednesday of around 102. A lineup of Republican speakers onstage and Republican faithful in the seats.
The gathering also mimicked a presidential convention by focusing almost exclusively on Mr. Trump — and not the men and women fighting to retain Republican control of Congress. The credentials to get in displayed Mr. Trump’s picture. Enlarged photos decked the corridors showing Mr. Trump from all angles, including one of his bandaged ear after a 2024 assassination attempt. Asked about whom they were excited to see, attendees did not pretend for a moment that the bash was about anyone other than the man whose name will not be on the November ballot.
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Originally published by nytimes.com. Syndicated material does not necessarily reflect the views of Glamour Canada.
