By Adam Cancryn, Kristen Holmes, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump has touted his one-of-a-kind midterm convention as the spectacle his party needs to reenergize voters and alter its political fortunes ahead of the midterms.
But as the two-day extravaganza approaches, Republicans are privately questioning if it strikes the right tone amid the electorate’s tightening budgets — and the wisdom of diverting candidates from their districts just weeks out from Election Day.
Further compounding concerns: expensive entrance fees for lawmakers, competing events like the start of the NFL season and 9/11 commemorations and some state parties struggling to drum up enthusiasm with their members.
And then there’s the overarching fear — that an event once dubbed “Trumpapalooza” will indeed end up being far more about promoting the president than the candidates who are actually on the ballot.
“I’ve heard people say, why are we doing this? What’s going on?” said Reb Wayne, a Texas-based Republican consultant. “It was a good idea at the time, but as we’ve gotten closer to it, I’m not sure it’s going to serve much benefit.”
The rising apprehension comes as Republican candidates search for ways to defy the national headwinds arrayed against the GOP, including entrenched voter anger over the cost of living and frustration with the ongoing war in Iran.
The party that holds the White House traditionally loses seats in the midterms — a dynamic that Republicans acknowledge already puts them at a disadvantage. But without Trump on the ballot and polls showing deep dissatisfaction with the country’s trajectory, GOP leaders worry it will be even more difficult to get the broad MAGA coalition that came out in 2024 to show up again.
“What is always the biggest issue when Trump is not on the ballot? Voters don’t show up,” said one Republican lawmaker in a competitive race. “So what’s [Trump] trying to do? Motivate the base to come out.”
Trump and his political team conceived of the midterm convention last year as a fresh way to engage those GOP voters and convince them to head to the ballot box — a concept that was widely viewed among Republicans then as a smart idea.
But as the broader political mood has worsened in recent months, even those who still see merit in making a big show of party unity have doubts about the convention’s execution.
One Republican operative involved in internal discussions around the convention acknowledged that the political climate has shifted since the decision to hold the convention — but noted that once Trump announced it, they were not going to change course. The operative also argued that there’s still some benefit to be squeezed from the multiday event organized by the Republican National Committee, offering candidates an opportunity to showcase themselves on a national stage and juice their fundraising.
The sheer logistics of the convention have also muted enthusiasm among some lawmakers and party operatives, requiring Republicans to spend two days off the campaign trail to gather in Dallas in what are likely to be sweltering conditions.
“It’s not easy to get to Dallas,” said one person close to the White House. “They should’ve done it in Florida, or in DC.” Dallas was chosen in large part because it could host such a big event, an RNC official said.
Some lawmakers have griped about the entrance fees: $25,000 and up for House members, said people familiar with the matter, though others downplayed it as a standard request meant to boost the party’s fundraising.
“It’s not the members themselves, it’s donor money,” the Republican lawmaker said, chalking up the complaints to broader skepticism about whether the event will ultimately be worth vulnerable members’ time. Puck first reported complaints about the entrance fees.
Adding to their worries, the convention will take place on the same nights as the first two games of the NFL season — pitting its primetime speakers against the most-watched sport in the country.
“I don’t understand the programming still. It seems to just be five hours of speeches,” said one GOP donor, adding that they were mainly approaching the convention as a networking event.
Some Republican officials nevertheless argued that the convention could offer a boost to the few dozen candidates whose races will determine control of Congress — and, at minimum, there was little downside in trying something new to capture voters’ attention.
The RNC slotted the event near the very end of primary season and before early voting begins in most states, in hopes of highlighting Republicans’ accomplishments under Trump while also hammering Democrats just as Americans begin to tune into the midterm contests in earnest.
Republicans are expected to play up efforts to label Democrats as “socialists” and spotlight the party’s furthest-left candidates, officials said, in keeping with Trump’s increasingly belligerent attacks on Democrats as dangers to the nation’s core values.
“It’s going to help rev the base up, that focus on socialism,” said Michigan GOP strategist Jason Roe. “And it may, for those people who don’t really understand why socialism sucks, give them some perspective on it.”
The event is a natural moment to shift into a general election posture, senior GOP aides told CNN, conceding they had thus far failed to do so amid infighting and consternation over Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war.
In addition to giving Republican candidates speaking slots, the RNC is planning to spotlight a variety of voters who will talk about Republican policies that have benefited their lives.
“The upcoming Midterm Convention will showcase the momentum behind President Trump’s agenda and Republicans’ record of delivering real results for the American people,” RNC spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre said in a statement, adding that “while Democrats remain divided and distracted, Republicans are united behind a shared vision.”
Republicans nevertheless acknowledged that the convention will inevitably revolve around Trump, who is slated to headline its second day and be a constant presence throughout the event.
With the White House still consumed by the war in Iran and struggling to ease consumer costs, some in the GOP cringed at the prospect of focusing even more attention on Trump’s presidency and record. The president, they worried, is just as likely to spend his own speech boasting about his White House ballroom and dismissing affordability concerns as he is promoting the most popular elements of the party’s agenda.
But multiple sources involved in the convention discussions waved off reservations about putting Trump in close proximity to the vulnerable Republicans trying to keep their seats, arguing that at this late date in the election cycle, their fates will be intertwined regardless.
“Is the idea that a Republican is going to go to the convention and all the sudden [Democrats] are going to run ads tying them to Trump?” said one of the sources. “Trump is in every single ad already.”
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
Manu Raju contributed to this report.
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