Trump’s next move marches Republicans toward 'political suicide'

This week, the Republican Party will hold a rare midterm convention, a practice that political insiders have – based on previous experience – deemed “crazy” due to the chaos and expense it brings to an election season. But at President Donald Trump’s urging, the GOP is doing it anyway, and experts warn that it could be pushing the party toward “political suicide.”

This is according to new reporting by the Guardian, which on Monday explained that while the Republicans’ Dallas convention has been billed as a “primetime showcase” to boost morale, nationalize congressional elections, and galvanize Republican voters, “success is far from guaranteed. The made-for-TV spectacle clashes directly with the two opening games of the American football season. A Politico website survey of more than 70 Republican candidates and members found 45 who either do not plan to go to Dallas or are still thinking about it. Some cited prior commitments while others balked at the $25,000 price of attending.” What’s more, while Trump has made it clear that the show is all about him, Newsweek reports that may be a losing strategy.

“This is essentially a Trump rally that they’re calling a midterm convention,” said Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. “They’re trying to get enthusiasm among their base because that’s what they need for November. Basically, this is a Trump show.” According to the Guardian, however, "It appears the plan could backfire. Trump’s approval rating is at 33 percent, the lowest point of his political career, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll last week. Democrats seem more fired up about the midterms with 46 percent describing themselves as ‘very enthusiastic’ about voting in November, compared with 31 percent of Republicans.”

Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill, argues that building a midterm convention around a failing president is tantamount to “political suicide,” saying, “It is an incredibly risky strategy for any Republican at this point to hitch his wagon to Donald Trump. On every issue that Trump was once strong on he is underwater, from the economy to immigration.” Setmayer added, “The idea that he’s going to excite people is flawed at this point, given the polling numbers in Donald Trump’s own constituency. They’re not inspired and this vanity convention is not going to change that with 60 days to go to the election. If anything, it’s going to remind people of how dissatisfied they are under Donald Trump’s second term.”

According to the Guardian, “There are further signs that the president could be more of a curse than a blessing. Some candidates are quietly scrubbing his likeness from their websites in a tactical retreat. In Texas, candidate Carlos De La Cruz replaced ‘Trump Conservative’ with ‘Proven Conservative’ on his homepage, erasing a line about being ‘ready to be President Trump’s wingman in Congress’ for a platitude about ‘servant leaders.’ In Kentucky, Ralph Alvarado pivoted to ‘Independent Leadership.’ In Nevada, Martin O’Donnell, a music composer best known for his work on the Halo video game series, no longer features his Trump endorsement photo on his website. In South Texas, Eric Flores replaced ‘Support for President Trump’s Agenda’ with ‘Lower the Cost of Living.’ In Alaska, Nick Begich edited his homepage to a simple: ‘We have delivered for Alaska.’” Trump has also received Republican pushback against his order renaming Lake Ontario and his war on Iran.

Trump has shrugged this all off. Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University in Washington, told the Guardian, “He doesn’t care about any of these other candidates. He only cares about two things when it comes to the midterms: one, that he won’t be investigated and two, that he can get his appointments through the Senate. He demands loyalty for everyone else and gives loyalty to no one.” Lichtman added, “People aren’t buying what they have to say, which is things are getting better, it’s the golden age, prices are coming down, we’re winning the Iranian war, our immigration policy is great. They’re not gonna buy it just because it’s a convention. Plus, as we know, Trump always goes off script and that’s never helpful to his party.”

According to conservative commentator Charlie Sykes, the midterms will largely be determined by whether Trump’s historic unpopularity outweighs Republican accusations that Democrats are “communists,” which is sure to be a major theme at the convention. But as Sykes asks, “The big question is, who is going to be paying any attention to this? Who is going to be watching this other than the hardcore base, the already convinced? I have a very hard time imagining independent voters tuning in to see the Trumpist pageantry.” According to Skyes, “It is a Trump-a-palooza and once again Donald Trump insists on being – what was the old phrase about Teddy Roosevelt? – the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral.”