{"id":31727,"date":"2026-08-08T01:30:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31727"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:30:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:30:26","slug":"exclusive-gop-plans-socialism-telethon-at-midterm-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31727","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: GOP plans socialism telethon at midterm convention"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.axios.com\/Ta7JtWiurhxfoKAbdmpwiJKrB_k=\/0x0:1920x1080\/1366x768\/2026\/08\/06\/1786046074307.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Republicans plan to use their first-ever <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/06\/30\/trump-republican-midterm-convention-dallas-texas\" target=\"_blank\">midterm convention<\/a> in Dallas next month to mount a sweeping, made-for-prime-time case that Democrats have become captive to their activist left, Axios has learned.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why it matters:<\/strong> With President Trump&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.natesilver.net\/p\/trump-approval-ratings-nate-silver-bulletin\" target=\"_blank\">approval rating<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/poll.qu.edu\/poll-release?releaseid=3964\" target=\"_blank\">in the 30s<\/a> and his war in Iran weighing on the economy, Republicans don&#8217;t want the Nov. 3 midterms to be just a referendum on his presidency.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<ul>\n<li>They&#8217;re essentially planning a &#8220;But they&#8217;re worse&#8221; campaign targeting the ascendant Democratic left and socialism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Driving the news:<\/strong> Republicans will make progressive politicians and activists recurring characters throughout the <a href=\"https:\/\/gopconvention.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sept. 9-10 convention<\/a> at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>GOP operatives spent months compiling footage of Democratic figures \u2014 including left-wing commentator Hasan Piker and Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico \u2014 that they&#8217;ll use throughout the convention to paint Democrats as outside the mainstream.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Our video trove is endless,&#8221; <\/strong>a convention source told Axios.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Organizers will particularly focus on Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, who <a href=\"https:\/\/abdulforsenate.com\/priority\/medicare-for-all-the-path-to-a-healthier-america\/\" target=\"_blank\">backs Medicare for All<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/07\/27\/us\/politics\/el-sayed-michigan-senate.html\" target=\"_blank\">criticizes Israel<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Trump has blasted El-Sayed, a Muslim, as a &#8220;communist&#8221; and a &#8220;man of hate&#8221; who &#8220;hates Israel.&#8221; (El-Sayed, an epidemiologist, has said he&#8217;s a capitalist who disagrees with Israel&#8217;s actions in Gaza, not his &#8220;sisters and brothers of the Jewish faith.&#8221;)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Zoom in: <\/strong>Months of polling shaped the GOP convention, organizers say.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Everyday Americans&#8221; will tout Republican achievements on cutting taxes, lowering prescription drug costs and improving border security \u2014 a tactic organizers say worked at the 2024 convention.<\/li>\n<li>Organizers believe that will reinforce their argument that Republicans are focused on kitchen-table issues while Democrats have been overtaken by left-wingers whose policies will hurt Americans.<\/li>\n<li>The convention will be making that argument at a time when many Republicans have been frustrated by Trump&#8217;s lack of focus on the economy and affordability issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Republicans will also spotlight<\/strong> Trump&#8217;s tax exemption for some tipped income, crime-focused urban policies and the administration&#8217;s new child investment accounts.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Other points of focus will be Vice President Vance&#8217;s &#8220;anti-fraud&#8221; task force and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.&#8217;s MAHA movement. Trump strategists believe MAHA can again help broaden the GOP coalition.<\/li>\n<li>As for the increasingly unpopular war in Iran, the GOP will make the case that Trump has taken steps to protect Americans.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Here&#8217;s what else to expect:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Vance will speak the evening of Sept. 9, and Trump on Sept. 10. Trump is expected in the convention hall both nights.<\/li>\n<li>Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and some other administration officials will have big speaking roles, as will up-and-coming midterm candidates, UFC figures and celebrities.<\/li>\n<li>Unlike in 2024, when donors and delegates filled the floor, the crowd in Dallas will mostly be MAGA activists. <\/li>\n<li>The convention will commemorate the first anniversary of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.<\/li>\n<li>GOP operatives Justin Caporale and Tony Sayegh are playing major organizational roles, as they did for the 2020 and 2024 conventions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Reality check: <\/strong>The convention will test whether Republicans can move voters toward supporting Trump&#8217;s domestic agenda, which polls consistently have shown is unpopular.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/07\/29\/politics\/cnn-poll-donald-trump-midterms-polls-iran-war\" target=\"_blank\">CNN poll<\/a> out last week, 73% thought Trump wasn&#8217;t paying enough attention to key domestic issues. 65% said his policies were worsening economic conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The other side: <\/strong>Democrats decided against holding a midterm convention.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>DNC spokesperson Kendall Witmer told Axios: &#8220;While everyday Americans struggle to pay their bills, fill up their tanks, or put food on the table, Republicans are hosting a multimillion-dollar celebration to satisfy Donald Trump&#8217;s massive ego and tie vulnerable Republican candidates closer to his failed agenda.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republicans plan to use their first-ever midterm convention in Dallas next month to mount a sweeping, made-for-prime-time case that Democrats have become captive to their activist left, Axios has learned. Why it matters: With President Trump&#8217;s approval rating in the 30s and his war in Iran weighing on the economy, Republicans don&#8217;t want the Nov&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.axios.com\/Ta7JtWiurhxfoKAbdmpwiJKrB_k=\/0x0:1920x1080\/1366x768\/2026\/08\/06\/1786046074307.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}