LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Starting tomorrow, Republicans will gather in Dallas for an unconventional midterm convention. Political parties typically hold big, televised conventions every four years before presidential elections. But this is not a presidential election year. And midterm conventions, they're just not a thing. NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith reports President Trump will be the star of this show.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: The convention is being billed as a Trumpapalooza. Not my word. The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Joe Gruters, keeps calling it that. President Trump will be the headliner for the two-night convention both nights. Now, it would be reasonable to ask why Republicans trying to hang onto their narrow majorities in the House and the Senate would want to train so much attention on a president whose approval rating is deeply underwater. At a recent campaign rally, Trump laid out the theory of the case.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And the problem that we have is they say that Trump does great when he's on the ballot. But when he's not on the ballot, his people don't come and they don't vote for senators, congressmen and other Republicans.
KEITH: Polls show Democratic voters are far more energized about these midterms than Republicans. So Trump offered a prescription, or rather, a plea.
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TRUMP: So what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot. Just come and vote. It's so important.
KEITH: This is a wildly different approach than that taken by most presidents whose parties are facing political headwinds in a midterm year. At one of the few rallies then President Biden attended in 2022, he even joked about how best to support a Democratic senator.
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JOE BIDEN: He's up for reelection this year. And I told him, I'll come campaign for him or against him, whichever will help the most.
KEITH: But President Trump has never been one to go along with the normal rules of politics. Last week, a Trump-aligned political dark money group went up on air with two midterm campaign ads.
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TRUMP: We gave you no tax on tips, no tax on overtime.
KEITH: Neither ad mentioned Republicans in the House and Senate. Both had a lot of slow-motion footage of the president.
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UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: He's fighting for you every day. Help him finish the job.
KEITH: Convention organizers say it will focus on the issues shaping the midterms, including lowering costs and raising incomes, securing the border and protecting American values. Fewer than half of the Republican candidates in competitive House and Senate races are listed as convention speakers. Talking to reporters on Capitol Hill last week, vulnerable Republican Congressman Zach Nunn of Iowa said he's out.
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ZACH NUNN: We're going to be back in our district working hard.
KEITH: At a White House press briefing, Vice President Vance, who will also speak at the convention, dismissed attendance concerns.
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JD VANCE: The president and I can go and make that argument on national TV. We don't need a congressman in a tight race to be there in all cases. Sometimes it might be better if that guy's out there raising money. But I think people are going to make a determination, what is the best way for me to spend my time as a candidate?
KEITH: Democratic consultant and pollster John Anzalone has been going to presidential conventions for decades.
JOHN ANZALONE: Most elected officials don't even want to go to those. I mean, the expiration date on conventions have passed a long, long time ago.
KEITH: He predicts this convention will be a dud.
ANZALONE: He has created an economic and political environment that is disastrous for Republicans running for office. And this Republican convention is not going to change that narrative one iota for the midterm elections.
KEITH: People attending the convention say they hope it will raise money for Republicans, energize the party faithful and drive a focused message heading into the midterms. Terry Schilling, president of a Republican advocacy group called the American Principles Project, will be there. And he's pumped.
TERRY SCHILLING: Running to President Trump and defending his record, I think, is an interesting strategy. And I think it is so interesting that it just might work. We've tried running away from the president in previous midterms, and we almost always lose.
KEITH: He added it may just be their best shot at saving their losses in what is widely expected to be a tough year for Republicans.
Tamara Keith, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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