GOP operatives skeptical as Trump 'party' risks 'creating more harm'

With the 2026 midterms less than two months ago, President Donald Trump is hoping that his midterms convention — set for Thursday and Friday in Dallas — will give Republican candidates a boost. But according to GOP insiders interviewed by Politico, the convention is doing more harm than good.

Journalists Alex Gangitano and Megan Messerly, in Politico, report that "many" Republicans — including "some who plan to attend the convention" are "skeptical that the confab will be worth the time and money expended."

A North Carolina-based GOP operative, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Politico, "When Republicans go spend a bunch of money to go to a convention when you got people back home who worry about paying their gas next week to get to work … What's the optics of that? It runs the risk of creating more harm. They're going to see politicians doing politics and not taking care of them at home."

The operative also told Politico, "The economy is the key driver here. Words and conventions are not going to fix the problem. It's going to be results at the gas pump but, more importantly, results at the grocery store. If the convention is able to show relief at the grocery store and the gas pump, then it will be beneficial. In absence of the relief, there's a risk of doing more harm than good."

Another GOP source, who Gangitano and Messerly describe as someone "close to the White House," told Politico, "Do you really think that the party is going to get a bump for two nights of random talking points? One of the issues that we have seen over the last eight years is that when (Trump is) not on the ballot, people are not as motivated."

GOP strategist Matt Whitlock, a former senior adviser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), described the challenges that Trump faces from a messaging standpoint.

Whitlock told Politico, "He wants to find a way to paint a picture without saying you're doing great, but saying things that we have done have improved the situation in a trajectory towards making your life better. While simultaneously being able to make the argument: if you put the other people in charge, things are going to get a lot worse. And here's some of their worst socialist ideas."

The Politico reporters note that although Trump "made gains with working class voters in 2024, including Black and Latino voters frustrated with the Biden-era economy … only one in four Americans who self-identify as working-class say politicians genuinely want to help them, according to new results from the Politico Poll."

Gangitano and Messerly note, "Half of self-identified working class Americans say Trump has spent too much time focusing on international affairs instead of on domestic issues and 35 percent say Trump, not (former President Joe) Biden, is fully responsible for the economy."