Republican Convention in Dallas: Trump’s bid to win back votes
Many Republican candidates in the mid-term elections were caught off guard by the President’s moves
‘I cannot know what the President will say at the convention, but I can decide where I will be and what I will be doing over the next few days: I will be in my constituency, working to win over voters.’ Tom Barrett, a Republican MP facing a tough re-election battle in Michigan, has made it known well in advance that he will not be attending the two-day event in Dallas organised by Donald Trump to revitalise the ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) right ahead of November’s mid-term elections. “I feel I’ll be more useful in my constituency; I travel a lot, and if I can go home, see my family and carry out my work there too, then that’s what I’d rather do,” he added, explaining the reason for his absence and braving the wrath of the big boss.
Trump is keeping a tight grip on the party, even doling out funding to candidates from his $400 million Super PAC. He is doing everything he can to centralise the election campaign, which has become a referendum on the president. He faces an uphill battle, like all sitting presidents in mid-term elections, but he is convinced he can revive the Republicans’ ambitions: ‘Treat me as the candidate, go out and vote,’ he repeated just two days ago during a rally in South Carolina. Yet his popularity is at an all-time low: now only 30 per cent of Americans – according to the latest polls – approve of the president’s performance, and, as has happened to almost all his predecessors – from the Republican George W. Bush to the Democrat Barack Obama – he risks, in the event of a heavy defeat, losing the majority in the House of Representatives (and perhaps in the Senate) after two years in the White House.
The wars in Ukraine and Iran, where US military forces are directly involved, are weighing heavily on voters’ opinions – those of the undecided and the populist MAGA base. But so too do the consequences of these conflicts: namely, rising prices for petrol, diesel for transport and agriculture, and fertilisers – and, as a knock-on effect, for food and other essential goods. For many Americans, Trump is to blame. This also applies to the tariffs and the row with Canada. Or for more local issues, such as data centres – promoted by the tycoon alongside the big tech companies – which almost nobody wants in their own community, even in Texas. This is why many Republican candidates have chosen to boycott the convention: such as Barrett in Michigan, Zach Nunn from Iowa and David Valadao from California.
“The widespread feeling is that the president is not focusing on the main issue for voters, namely affordability,” explains Jessica Taylor, a Senate analyst at the Cook Political Report. “Those who wish to express their disapproval of the President,” she adds, “will choose to vote against the Republican Party.”
For Trump, the convention – taking place today and tomorrow in Texas – “will be a historic, fantastic event”: “We will celebrate the great American revival and the incredible achievements of the American people, who have transformed our country thanks to the ‘America First’ programme,” he announced on social media. ‘Oil prices,’ he added, ‘are plummeting dramatically; we have put a stop to Iran’s nuclear programme. We are delivering on the promises that politicians have been talking about for decades, but which have never been kept.’
