Im on the ballot: Trump tries to energize his base by placing himself front and center
DALLAS — President Donald Trump wants to make one thing clear: His name is not on the ballot in November, but his supporters need to vote like it is.Republicans from across the country convened here Wednesday for their party’s first-ever midterm convention, an event designed to put Trump front and center in the closing stages of the midterm election cycle.“Pretend that I am on the ballot,” Trump said to loud cheers during his keynote address Wednesday night.
“I’m on the ballot.”The gathering comes as Trump’s approval ratings are at an all-time low, and the party is worried about MAGA voters not turning out in large numbers — historically a problem for Republicans when Trump is not running.Trump tried to energize his base with a speech that was a hallmark of his presidential campaign — lengthy, winding and full insults directed at his opponents.Trump leaned into the headwinds his party is facing, walking the audience through the long-running political dynamic that the party that controls the White House generally struggles during midterms.“The midterms are not supposed to be won by the sitting president,” he said.
“We are going to change that.” For much of the first day of the convention, the crowd at the American Airlines Center was sparse.Before Trump took the stage, however, the lower sections of the arena filled up, and there was noticeably more energy for the president’s speech.
The upper sections of the arena, however, remained largely empty.Outside of convincing Republicans to vote during the midterms, much of Trump’s speech focused on issues that he regularly talks about during political rallies; he repeatedly mentioned closing the southern border, tax cuts and boosting domestic energy production.“I gave you the biggest tax decreases in the history of our country,” Trump said to loud cheers.“We will have American energy independence.
...We will have energy dominance.”Trump also promised that his administration woul...