Republicans get bad news ahead of Trump-themed midterm convention

Brian Tyler Cohen (0:01)

Republicans get some rough news about this week's upcoming midterm convention, and I've got three interviews, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, the bulwark Sarah Longwell, and the Democrat running to unseat embattled Republican Congressman Max Miller, Brian Poindexter. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie.

If you've got your big first ever midterm convention this week, as Republicans do, this is probably not the news that you want shared when it comes to ticket sales.

SPEAKER_2 (0:28)

The NRCC did confirm to Fox more than 2,000 tickets have been distributed ahead of the convention. So tell us more about the convention and also about this cash advantage for you and the RNC. The big question here, where are you going to deploy the money?

SPEAKER_3 (0:44)

Well, listen, I think that people are giving us money because they believe in the agenda that we're selling to the American people, and I think they believe in the president, they believe in what Speaker Johnson doing and Leader Thune is doing, and we're ready to go.

Brian Tyler Cohen (0:57)

2,000 tickets. This thing is days away, and Republicans have barely broken triple digits when it comes to ticket sales, which actually makes sense for three reasons. First, let's start with the price tag. House Republicans are being asked to pony up a minimum $25,000 suggested donation to attend, and this isn't to speak or to headline. This is just for the distinct privilege of being able to walk in the door. And for an idea as to how that's landing, out of 70 Republican candidates and sitting members were asked whether they were going, 45 of them said no or that they were still quote considering. That's nearly two thirds of the people that were actually asked hedging or outright declining for their party's marquee midterm event. Tim Burchett said, quote, I just got a bill. I'm not sure. He called the $25,000 ask, quote, pretty steep. Former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said that Trump is supposed to be raising money for the candidates, not the other way around. Jake Elzey said, quote, not everybody's a fundraising juggernaut. Some of these folks feel it's better spent on themselves. And he's right that everybody is not a fundraising juggernaut. And one would think that the leader of a major political party would recognize that too and would consider not charging $25,000 to your own members during their re-election campaigns, while he himself has $450 million, but Trump isn't most leaders. And these Republicans have to remember that at the end of the day, it is not about them. It's about Trump. When you swear allegiance to the world's biggest narcissist, that means you got to pay the narcissism tax too.

Reason number two, this thing pulls Republicans who are in genuinely tough races off the campaign trail at the exact moment they can least afford it. Like we are fewer than 60 days out from the midterms. And thanks to Trump, Republicans are running in the least favorable environment in decades. Maybe leaving their states and districts to go rub elbows with big donors is not the best use of their time. Perhaps talking to the people whose votes that are actually trying to win might be a little bit more productive. Then again, this isn't exactly a Republican party known for their allegiance to regular people, which leads to reason number three, which really is the whole ballgame. This convention is basically shaping up to be one big Trump celebration. It's literally being billed as Trumpapalooza. And it's all happening as Trump's rock bottom approval rating drags the rest of his party down. So if you are a vulnerable House Republican trying to convince swing voters back home that you're your own person, you're independent minded, you're focused on their kitchen table issues, maybe the last thing you want is a viral photo of yourself on the convention floor in Dallas with your cowboy hat included, courtesy of the $20,000 honorary delegate package cheering for a president whose numbers are cratering and who the voters are showing up to vote against. You would be voluntarily nationalizing your own race around the most unpopular figure in it.

And let's be honest, this is going to be a Trump worship fest. Trump's RNC is not going to put on an event where it is anything other than that. So anybody who goes is basically telling their voters, this is where my allegiance lies. I am in Dallas, genuflecting at the altar of Trump instead of talking to you. Like the reality is you don't show up at Trumpapalooza and then get to go to your own district and distance yourself from that very guy. You can't have it both ways.