Are You Not Entertained, by the Trump-A-Palooza?

On September 9^th and 10^th, 2026, the Republican Party held its first midterm national convention in Dallas, Texas. The much-anticipated event – at least by political hacks, like me – has been called the “Trump-a-palooza.” RedState covered the proceedings in depth, here. The president’s speeches can be found here and here. The vice president’s speech can be seen here. My Senators, John Fetterman and Dave McCormick, both spoke here, and my Congressman Ryan Mackenzie’s speech is here. 

According to Politico, “the GOP message in Dallas was less about cost than crazies” and was directed towards Trump voters:

Communist, radical, sick: Those were just a handful of ways Republicans characterized their Democratic opponents this week in Dallas, where they used a rare midterm convention to paint themselves as the reasonable party in a race against extremism…“That is him trying to turn out low-propensity Trump voters,” a GOP strategist told them of the president asking voters to treat the midterms as if he’s on the ballot. “To me, that’s what this convention is for.”

 Politico Toplines, September 12, 2026 

Well, duh. That is what you are supposed to do. Negative always beats positive in politics, and your side’s voters always must be motivated to vote.

But there was a little more to the 2026 Trump-a-palooza GOP Midterm Convention than just that. The GOP convention was a well-organized, 48-hour program that had four main purposes: 1) to fundraise; 2) to promote the Trump administration record; 3) to promote individual GOP candidates; and 4) to batter the Democratic socialist/communist crazies.

It was announced prior to the convention that the fundraising committee had raised $45 million. During it, attendees were able to attend separate events with the president, charging the bargain price of $250,000 a person, and $88,600 for a photo with him. The vice president, however, was more of deal. There were also events for the party committees, as well as the associated super PACs. There was a constant recitation of the Trump administration’s record, including the following issues – the crackdown on illegal aliens; the One Big Beautiful Law; No Tax on Tips; increased domestic energy; opposition to men playing in women’s sports; the success in the Iran war; and the war on crime.

The speaking schedule had 109 presenters, a list of whom can be found here. Periodically, non-political people would speak about how their lives and businesses were positively impacted by the administration and its policies, including comedian Adam Carolla. Many of the speakers were public officials running in the most competitive and high-profile races, including Ken Paxton, Michael Whatley, Monica De La Cruz, and my own Congressman, the excellent Ryan Mackenzie (full disclosure, I have known him personally for decades). Finally, the GOP hammered the left-wing, DSA-loving Democrats and their left-wing policies. Individual Republicans attacked their opponents. The most egregious nuts on the Democrat side, including Abdul El-Sayed, James Talarico, and Angie Nixon, were often singled out by name by multiple speakers.

The Trump-a-palooza was a very different animal than the three earlier Democrat midterm conventions — in 1974, 1978, and 1982. Those conventions were initiated because of reforms implemented by the 1972 left-wing George McGovern campaign. Those reforms sought to promote extreme left-wing causes and various disadvantaged ethnic, religious and gender groups during the conventions. Those conventions were not used as fundraisers. As a result, those conventions were largely a money suck for the DNC and only ended up highlighting constant Democrat leftism and infighting. 

Basically, the Trump-a-palooza is a big comparison commercial for a campaign. The GOP is focused on three separate audiences – 1) the MAGA base, especially millennial families; 2) the other (traditional) Republican factions; and 3) to a much lesser extent, the persuadable moderates, who are least likely to actually vote in the elections. The big policy announcement, the $5,000 dividend check – which is a tactic often used by the Democrats – is meant to motivate MAGA and persuadables. And it is a big deal – it is easily understandable by all, and only those “deficits-do matter” conservatives are hostile. The trans talk is universally popular. The crackdown on illegals is popular with the persuadables and all factions of the party except for the establishment types. The socialism/communism attacks are intended most for the other Republican factions, which understand the danger and have had a long experience in opposing left-wing craziness. 

The Fetterman introduction will also make real news and will appeal to establishment types with a fetish for “bipartisanship,” and to persuadable moderates. 

Politico believes that President Trump’s call to “pretend that (he) is on the ballot” is a mistake. They are expressing the Conventional Wisdom, which is that the out-party wants to nationalize the ballot when the president is polling poorly, to run against him. However, during the Trump era, the two parties have been roughly equal in size, and elections are usually determined by which party is more enthusiastic to vote. Right now, the Democrats are, and the GOP needs to find a way to get its own people out. Further, in 2026, the parties are fighting over areas that disproportionally lean towards the GOP. The Senate battleground is mostly in heavily Republican states. The House also has a GOP edge, with very few “crossover districts,” thanks to the gerrymandering wars and the natural inclination of Democrats to settle in the big cities, while the Republicans are more scattered about. 

Will the Trump-a-palooza work? “We’ll (Just Have to) See What Happens.”

Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has been infected by socialism, and it's spreading FAST. Democrats are claiming there's nothing to worry about, but we know the truth.

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