Republicans assess Trump’s convention with a shrug

Por Alex Gangitano, Megan Messerly, Andrew Howard, Alec Hernandez and Meredith Lee Hill — POLITICO – TOP Stories

DALLAS – Republicans breathed a sigh of relief that the GOP midterm convention didn’t go poorly. But many aren’t convinced it will help in November.

On flights out of Dallas Friday morning, Republicans were grateful that the novel concept of a two-day midterm convention went smoothly. But they had lingering questions about its impact in the upcoming midterms and even some worries that President Donald Trump’s request that voters picture him on the ballot will hurt swing district Republicans who need Democratic or independent votes.

“It went basically as well as it could have,” said one GOP strategist working on midterm races, granted anonymity, like others in this story, to speak candidly about party dynamics. “No harm done, but also doesn’t change much of anything.”

Most GOP speakers did not address the Iran war and its associated crunch on the cost of living, the most potent arrow in Democrats’ quiver this fall. Trump’s promise to send Americans a $5,000 check if Republicans kept control of Congress grabbed attention but was quickly batted down by deficit-weary Republicans on Capitol Hill, likely limiting the message’s reach.

Convention organizers overcame worries that the quickly planned confab — somewhat derisively dubbed “the Trump show” — would look like it was thrown together with duct tape.

And rather than only focus on motivating his MAGA base, Trump triedto motivate all Republicans by warning of a “communist” takeover if Democrats win.

“Republican voters needed a post-Labor Day wakeup call and the president delivered it,” one person close to the White House, who was previously skeptical of the convention, said via text message. “While I don’t necessarily think it will show up in polling, among the faithful who knock on doors, make the [get out the vote] calls, etc., this definitely got them fired up and focused.”

From the signature convention balloon drop to the security and transportation for guests, the convention was logistically well-orchestrated and the schedule ran mostly on time.

“I think it was a success, but now it’s on Republicans to keep that momentum going,” said Mark Bednar, GOP strategist and former communications director for Speaker Kevin McCarthy. “There was a lot of buzz between members, donors, and activists.”

On both nights, Trump asked those watching to pretend as though he was on the ballot this fall, a rally cry that reflects his ability to turn out low-propensity Republican voters — and concerns that like in other midterms in the Trump era, they’ll vote in much lower numbers in November.

But for House Republicans and their allies who need independents and swing voters, the message didn’t hit the mark.

“He committed the biggest mistake: he said ‘I am on the ballot,’ which is going to fuck us,” warned a GOP county chair in a region where House races have been made competitive by Trump’s unpopularity. “People will vote against congressmen and women to get back at Trump.”

A swath of GOP lawmakers in competitive races who didn’t attend the convention were near despondent at Trump’s comment.

“I’m sure it helps with the base where enthusiasm is low but it won’t help with independent or swing voters,” one House Republican said.

Some Republicans used the convention to press Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Trump officials in private conversations to take some kind of administration emergency action around refiner capacity, in an effort to bring down gas prices.

A second House Republican said he raised the topic with Burgum during a private conversation over a breakfast with the Virginia delegation Thursday.

Without announcements to bring down costs, the convention didn’t help candidates who are struggling to convince voters the economy will improve, said a former Trump administration official.

“Not sure he offered a vision for the next 60 days,” the person said. “Trump’s economy is still on a collision course with reality.”

Trump and other speakers did hit on all the red meat issues that drive Republicans, from transgender athletes participating in women’s sports to the border. Candidates whose races will determine control of the Senate next year, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Michigan Republican Mike Rogers, got primetime moments to hit back on their Democratic opponents.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., revved up the base. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), whose district former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, aimed to reach out to disillusioned Republicans and independents and Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, made a surprising video appearance to praise his colleague Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.).

Vice President JD Vance’s keynote address was met with chants and cheers from the crowd, stirring up energy on the second night of the convention, and was the topic of conversation among GOP operatives on Friday.

“I think it went fine. We had the money and it was worth taking the shot. The VP was really good, and the president didn’t hurt anything,” said a GOP operative working on races in Georgia. “I think it gives some good ammo to candidates.”

Vance talked about his new 6-week-old child and parental rights, bashed Democrats and called on wavering voters to “recognize the contrast with the radicals and recognize the achievements of the last 18 months” despite not agreeing with every policy of the Trump administration.

“JD absolutely crushed it. I think he introduced himself to voters in a new way and positioned himself as a great attack dog against some of Democrats’ most prominent candidates,” Bednar said.

In an age in which most voters don’t watch primetime television and are more likely to see clips on social media only if they go viral, some Republicans questioned whether any convention moment reached that bar.

“There was nothing that stood out to me as powerful enough to stand out online and I haven’t seen anything going very viral outside of JD blasting the protestor,” another GOP operative said, referring to the moment when Vance responded to a man waving a Mexican flag by saying he should get his “ass over there” if he loves the country so much.

Still, the person conceded it hadn’t gone as poorly as anticipated.

“My fear, and I think many others’ fear, was it would come off as out of touch when voters are so frustrated but it wasn’t at all. The production was great too,” the operative said. “It’d leave an impression if anyone watched.”

Meanwhile, another naysayer wasn’t convinced the programming mattered and pointed to the football games that drew viewership on both nights.

“I don’t think it mattered,” the person said. “No one watched. The NFL is unbeatable for TV.”

Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories