“The Democrats are the party of hatred. They're the party that despises America and the people who built it. … I'm not asking anybody to agree with me on every single issue.
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Trump Convenes the First Midterm Convention in Modern History and at Least 45 House Republicans Say They Are Not Coming — the Ticket Is $25,000, the Nickname Is "Trumpapalooza," and the Vice President's Answer Is "We Don't Need a Congressman in a Tight Race to Be There"
September 3, 2026
The Republican National Committee has scheduled a two-day midterm convention in Dallas for September 9 and 10, 2026 — an event with no real precedent in modern American politics, informally called "Trumpapalooza" inside the party. In the first days of September, Politico surveyed more than 70 House Republicans and at least 45 said they would not attend; NOTUS separately found swing-state members skipping it. Dozens more were undecided. The stated reasons vary: House members are being asked to contribute $25,000 apiece, and many said they had district events, fundraisers, or 25th-anniversary September 11 commemorations already on the calendar. The unstated one is the calendar itself — the convention lands eight weeks before a midterm in which the president's approval rating hit record lows in August, and members in competitive seats have to decide whether standing next to him on a Dallas stage helps. Speaker Mike Johnson said some members simply need to be in their districts. Vice President JD Vance told reporters the ticket does not need marginal members in the room. Sen. Mike Rounds, up for reelection in South Dakota, said he would be home talking to constituents. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who is going, said the party's record "is just not getting out." Rep. Tim Burchett said he had just gotten the bill.
31
Statements Recorded
See what your representatives said?
31 Statements
“If you love Mexico so much, get your ass over there. I'll buy you the plane ticket.
“While extreme MAGA Republicans party in Dallas with their billionaire donors, Democrats are taking our message directly to the American people.
“If Donald Trump wants to hold the convention saying this election is about him, I fully support his decision.
“The reason that some people are not coming is because we don't have room for 500 politicians. … Everybody wants to come.
“We are putting the president on the ballot. That's exactly what we're doing with this midterm convention. … We have the best showman in politics in President Donald J. Trump.
“As it turns out, Washington wasn't incapable of working for the American people. All we needed was a new president.
“President Trump has turned this country around once before, and he's doing it again.
“I would give him an A. … I recognize that the day he came in, you guys didn't like him, and you still don't like him. That's okay. That's the beauty of democracy. You can have different views.
“This midterm, we face the most dangerous … radical … and frankly weird Democrat candidates in history.
“Then you have Jon Ossoff in Georgia. He wants to let boys play in girls' sports.
“The first thing they'll do is impeach President Trump and his Cabinet. This is not your father's Democrat Party. The Democrat Party has been completely taken over by crazy communists.
“None of those victories are guaranteed to last. … They will repeal no tax on overtime, no tax on tips. … This is what we talk about when we say it's commonsense versus crazy communist.
“This bizarre Republican midterm convention here can't paper over the fact that Republicans have done nothing to earn your vote. … In this moment, when America needs a new generation of leaders, fighters willing to stand up against tyranny, Texas Democrats have stepped into the breach.
“Republicans know that they can't win on the merits of their unpopular policies, so they're working to rig the 2026 election. It's a disgraceful attack on Black and Hispanic citizens and civil rights activists who shed their blood, and others who lost their lives, to secure our right to vote.
“One communist crazy versus traditional American common-sense values.
“The whole goal of the midterm convention is to get Republicans together and share the stories of what we’ve done through this Congress and the past two years.
“While swing seat House Republicans try to hide from their record of raising costs on working families, gutting Medicaid to fund tax breaks for billionaire donors and supporting a reckless war of choice in Iran, House Democrats will be present to hold them accountable. Americans are drowning in the failed Republican economy. Rather than taking a single step to lower costs, MAGA extremists are partying with their super rich donors in Dallas.
“robust engagement by Democrats, in part led by the Texas Democratic Party, along with participation from House Democrats, Senate Democrats, as well as Democratic governors from different parts of the country.
“Over two action-packed days, we will take Americans through the defining issues of our Party’s agenda and what is at stake in November.
“Next week, billionaire donors and their puppet politicians will gather at a convention in Dallas to toast their own corruption. In the shadow of this Billionaire Ball, we'll be collecting food to help Texans struggling with rising grocery prices.
“The president and I can go and make that argument on national TV. We don't need a congressman in a tight race to be there in all cases. Sometimes it might be better if that guy's out there raising money.
“Some of them need to be in the district on those two days, Sept. 9 and 10.
“That's up to the folks that want to put it on.
“This year, I'm spending as much time as I can in South Dakota talking to folks.
“No, I'm going to be in my district because I think it's more important to be in my district working for my folks.
“I had stuff already planned in my congressional district or I would be there. I don't think most members of Congress are on a regular schedule to go to party conventions.
“I have to be in the district because I have events. I cannot be in two places at the same time.
“We need to tell this story. It's just not getting out. We've accomplished monumental things, and that's why I'm going.
“I don't know — it's $25,000 apparently. I just got a bill. I'm not sure.
“I travel a lot for this job and if I can be back home and see my family and do the job back home as well, then that's sort of what I lean toward doing. I can't control what the president's going to say at the convention, but I can control where I'm at, what I'm doing.