“It will be rivaled only by the State Fair,” wrote a commentator on Facebook, referencing the sparsely populated National Mall during Trump’s much-heralded — and disastrously attended — 250th anniversary of the nation earlier this summer.
Trump announced the first-ever GOP midterm convention will take place in Dallas' roughly 20,000-person-capacity American Airlines Center in early September — less than two months before the nation votes in what many expect will be a bloody election for the Republicans.
Usually, planning for a national political convention starts as much as two years before the event, and the host cities take almost as long planning security and other logistics.
In this case, Trump announced the September 9-10 event in a June 30 Truth Social post.
"BIG NEWS!” he wrote.
“For the first time ever, the Republican Party will hold a MIDTERM CONVENTION. It will be in Dallas, Texas — One of my favorite places in the World. It will be fantastic! It has never been done before, and will be a truly Historic Event."
The historic event, however, is shrouded in mystery.
The point of a national political convention is to conduct party business, decide on a policy platform and elect delegates. In September, none of that is planned.
Instead, the event has been described by Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters as a “Trumpapalooza” fundraiser, effectively a two-day cheerleading rally for Trump that's designed to raise cash for midterm races and showcase candidates.
“While everyday Americans struggle to pay their bills, fill up their tanks, or put food on the table, Republicans are hosting a multi-million dollar celebration to boast about Donald Trump’s failed presidency to satisfy his massive ego," Democratic National Committee spokesperson Jaelin O’Halloran told Raw Story.
"Americans don’t want a ‘Trumpapalooza’ — they want lower costs and affordable healthcare."
But, other than announcing Trump himself is expected to speak, the GOP has shared no schedule publicly — or apparently with expected attendees. Even Gruters seems unclear — when the right-wing John Fredericks Media Network asked just two weeks ago, "What is your vision?" he responded, "We're still going over some of those details."
Tickets to attend, however, have been offered for sale by state Republican parties at astronomical prices.
In California, $250,000 would buy a “golden VIP member” four floor badges and four hotel rooms. Attendees from Michigan could get individual tickets for $7,500.
But requests to several states, including California and Michigan, to find out how many had been sold went unanswered.
In Texas, the host state, prices were slashed in half almost at the last minute — dropping, the day before the deadline to buy, from $20,000 for an Honorary Delegate to $10,000, and from $15,000 to $7,500 for honorary alternate delegates.
Like every other state party contacted by Raw Story, as well as the Republican National Committee, the Texas Republican Party would not reveal the level of interest.
However, D’rinda Randall, the newly appointed chair of that state’s party, said in a video that the massive discount came because the state party was “able to secure additional tickets, … and so we’re opening up more price points for Republicans to attend.”
“As Republicans, we celebrate those that do give,” she added.
The same level of mystery surrounds which dignitaries will be in attendance.
Multiple candidates — including Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), considered to be one of the party’s most vulnerable incumbents — chose not to respond when asked by Raw Story if they planned to attend. Advisers have been quietly recommending that some candidates distance themselves from the president as multiple polls show his popularity plunging to record lows.
Even the big names of the Republican Party seemed unsure what was going on when reached by Raw Story.
“There are so few details on it right now,” said Lauren Boebert (R-CO) on the last day that the House sat. “I’m like, I mean, I know it's on the calendar and that’s about it.”
Boebert also suggested the event was important for the party to build its platform — despite that apparently not being part of the agenda.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the Senate Majority Whip, said when asked what to expect at the event just a month away, “You know, I don’t know, I've never been. I've been to all the national conventions and it's an abbreviated version.
“There's not actually going to be voting that I know of. There's not a delegate call, you know, the dramatic parts.”
“I don't know what the, you know, what the attendance is going to be like, tickets and stuff, but I think it's a brilliant idea,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), who confirmed he intended to be there.
But former Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS), who served five terms and remains active in the party, isn’t going — and doesn’t expect it to be attended as well as a regular convention.
“I can't imagine it'd be as many,” Harper said. “But I think it would be well attended. I'm expecting that anyway. I just can't be there. We've already committed to a trip. So my wife and son and I already have plans to be going somewhere else.”
What is known, according to a report from the Dallas Morning News, is that preliminary estimates put the event's cost at up to $40 million. It's unknown how much of that will be picked up by taxpayers, and both the City of Dallas and American Airlines Center declined to share details of bills and contracts involved in their preparations.
Dallas police Chief Daniel Comeaux said the convention was being treated as an “all-hands-on-deck” event. “We’re going to keep everyone safe,” he said.
Additional reporting by Matt Laslo
