Republicans Achieve Unity By Skipping Trump Convention
Republicans achieved historic party unity Saturday by agreeing that the best place to celebrate President Donald Trump is somewhere other than his first-ever midterm convention. The Sept. 9–10 gathering at Dallas’s American Airlines Center will honor Trump’s record while allowing vulnerable GOP candidates to demonstrate unwavering loyalty from campaign offices, county fairs and any location beyond camera range. Multiple battleground Republicans have said they will skip the event or remain undecided, creating the broadest coalition of nonparticipants the party has assembled since its last vote on government funding.
Organizers waived the reported $25,000 attendance fee after discovering that candidates were willing to avoid Trump for free. Party officials said the absences should not be interpreted as concern that appearing beside the president could repel swing voters, donors or relatives who still answer their calls. Instead, Republicans are participating in a new “distributed convention,” under which candidates endorse Trump’s leadership by declining invitations, removing Dallas from their calendars and insisting they had already promised to inspect a local drainage project that weekend. “Nobody has ever filled an arena with more people who aren’t coming,” Trump said. “They’re staying home because they love me, and the farther away they stay, the bigger the endorsement becomes. Some of them may support me from another time zone, which is tremendous loyalty.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are expected to attend, ensuring the convention will contain enough elected officials to occupy a hotel elevator without alarming the fire marshal. Former President George W. Bush, who lives nearby, is not expected to speak, sparing the party the administrative burden of acknowledging a two-term Republican president who existed before Trump. First lady Melania Trump also has no plans to attend, extending the convention’s appeal into the president’s immediate household and establishing marital absence as a premium endorsement tier.
Officials said television cameras will be directed toward carefully selected sections of the arena, while empty seats will represent candidates whose devotion is too electorally valuable to display in public. Applause totals will include attendees, remote supporters, undecided invitees and anyone who drives past the building without making a rude gesture. The convention has therefore reached full capacity before opening its doors, because absence is now the Republican Party’s highest form of attendance.
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