Welcome to Trumpapalooza, the unusual convention Republicans hope will save the midterm elections

Donald Trump announced in June that he would hold “a truly historic event.” The hyperbole is typical for him, but the timing is unusual: a Republican Party convention in Dallas, Texas, less than two months before the midterm elections.

The Trump rendezvous with history takes place on September 9 and 10. And it is true that it is unprecedented. It is being billed like the kind of conclave both parties stage every four years, shortly before presidential elections, to pick their nominees and display coalition unity — but this time it promises to be more of a damage-control operation: polls ahead of November 3 favor the Democrats. All seats in the House and one-third of the Senate are at stake, and it is possible the Republicans could lose control of one or both chambers — and with it, the legislative initiative.

The gathering already has an informal name: Trumpapalooza. It is nicknamed after a famous rock festival, Lollapalooza, but also as a clear signal: like almost everything happening in the Republican Party since his return to power, what takes place over the next two days at the American Airlines Stadium in Dallas will revolve around Trump.

The difference is that the 50,000 people who traveled from across the country to attend the Republican convention in Milwaukee a couple of years ago — held a few days after the then-candidate survived an assassination attempt at an outdoor rally — arrived with more enthusiasm than the 20,000 attendees the organizers say they expect in Dallas. But the menus will look similar: a diet of America First candidate speeches, all the MAGA pageantry and excess, a playlist of the leader’s favorite songs — including one in particular, Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A. — and not one but two Trump rallies, which will be “like no other,” he promised in June.

Two nights in a row

Scheduling the main act for two consecutive nights was the organizers’ gambit to prevent interest from flagging among attendees, who were asked to consider a $25,000 donation to participate. Wednesday will be Trump’s major address, which is expected to combine a defense of his administration’s policies — which critics say have raised the cost of living and pushed up gas prices because of tariffs and an unpopular war in Iran with no quick end in sight — with a reaffirmation of MAGA ideals: a sealed southern border and a turn toward isolationism to promote American values. On Thursday, the president will speak after his running mate, J. D. Vance, to close out the event.

That fewer than half of Republican candidates in competitive districts appear on the roster shows how difficult it has become for the president to meet one of the convention’s stated goals (besides stroking his ego and rallying a demoralized party base): helping those who face the toughest November fights in contests that are uncertain. With Democrats betting everything on turning the vote into a referendum on Trump’s presidency, for struggling GOP hopefuls he has become more a liability than an electoral asset.

Thus, in a party that for two years has rarely contradicted its leader, this convention has prompted many politicians to take a stand. Senators such as Tommy Tuberville (Alabama), John Cornyn (Texas) and Mike Rounds (South Dakota), and House members running for reelection such as David Valadao (California), Mike LaLota (New York) and Juan Ciscomani (Arizona) are not expected in Dallas, U.S. media outlets that have been tracking attendance at Trumpapalooza report. Excuses vary, but conservative commentator Jay Nordlinger summed them up wryly with an “old piece of American slang”: “They’ve got a hair appointment that day.”

First lady Melania Trump will also not attend the convention, while Senate majority leader John Thune will be in Dallas but will not take the stage, feeding impressions of his lack of alignment with Trump. The president blames Thune for blocking an ambitious voting overhaul from passing in the Capitol — legislation that would represent a sweeping change to U.S. voting rules by tightening access to the ballot for millions of citizens.

And because the event is being held in Texas, one race stands out above the rest: the contest between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — a candidate with a history of controversies and corruption allegations, who is being backed by Trump — and James Talarico, an up-and-coming Democratic star who seeks to be his party’s first senator from the state in three decades.

Polling aggregator RealClearPolitics gives Talarico a 2.4-point lead. Aware of what’s at stake — losing both chambers would be catastrophic for the second half of his presidency — Trump has opened the coffers of his Super PAC, an entity set up to receive donor money called MAGA, Inc., to put $10 million into Paxton’s campaign.

Meanwhile, the rest of the vulnerable November candidates, more in need of funds than of another “historic rally” from the president, are waiting their turn. MAGA, Inc. has just over $403 million to spend, according to the Federal Election Commission.

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