"We're stuck:" GOP accepts Trump's all-about-me midterms
President Trump is hitting the campaign trail and doing the last thing many Republicans want: making the 59 days to the Nov. 3 midterms a referendum on him. At the same time, they know it's inevitable. Why it matters : Most Republicans are too scared to bluntly tell Trump how unpopular he is. And Trump wants an unprecedented convention next week, ads and events to focus on him. The big picture :…
President Trump is campaigning for the upcoming November 3rd midterms, prioritizing himself over the party's best interests. Despite knowing Trump's low approval ratings, GOP leaders are hesitant to criticize him directly. The party is holding an unprecedented convention in Dallas to focus on Trump's achievements and urge voters to support him.
Trump is set to speak at the convention twice and is featured in the first two TV ads produced by his political operation. The ads are a compromise between Trump's demands for him to be the center of attention and GOP strategists' desire to support candidates beyond him. Trump has allocated around $400-$500 million from his super PAC and political nonprofit for the midterms, though it's unclear how he will spend such a large amount so quickly.
While Trump advisers believe these ads and his efforts will be effective, Republican strategists worry that voters may blame him for issues like rising gas prices. The timing of the convention is also problematic, as it overlaps with the NFL season and may not attract as much attention as desired.
Written by urgent.news from Axios's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
