Republicans attending their party’s upcoming midterms convention in Dallas, Texas, will be able to buy a photo opportunity with President Donald Trump for $88,600, according to a report. The Wall Street Journal cites an invitation to the Republican National Committee’s event on September 9 and 10, which reveals that donors will also have the chance to join the president at a roundtable event by shelling out a cool $250,000. For those who find the price tag too steep, a picture with Vice President JD Vance is going for less the half than the president at $35,000.
The parties usually only hold national conventions in the summer prior to a presidential election, not for the midterms, and do so to formally crown their nominee for the White House. With no candidate to certify, it is unclear what it will mean for attendees to be “delegates” at this month’s bash at the American Airlines Center – but that has not stopped state party websites making “honorary delegate” status available for as much as $20,000. Members of the House of Representatives are reportedly being charged even more to be there – $25,000, according to Puck News – with some top-tier tickets priced at $100,000.
Beth Van Duyne, finance chair of the National Republican Campaign Committee, has defended the high cost of attendance for members of Congress, telling TMZ DC the GOP needs to “make sure that we’re supporting other candidates who are in very tough, competitive races around the country,” arguing it is a way of ensuring everyone plays their part and contributes. The convention has further been criticized for involving corporate sponsors, with one unnamed Republican consultant recently telling The Huffington Post that the gathering was “not a real convention” and “a grifter free-for-all.” The Independent has reached out to the RNC for further comment. Questions have also been raised about the event’s scheduling: it kicks off on the same day as the NFL season opener and concludes just one day before the U.S. marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
For all that, the RNC has said it expects roughly 30,000 people to show up and says it has already raised $42 million, fully funding the event. The choice of Texas as the convention’s host state is significant because its scandal-marred Republican candidate Ken Paxton is facing a tough fight to secure a Senate seat come November against Democratic rising star James Talarico, who has raised $68 million to the state attorney general’s $9 million. As for Trump, he has decided to put himself front and center of his party’s midterms campaigning this year, despite his approval ratings languishing in the low 30s.
Darline Graham in South Carolina last month, the president actively encouraged voters to turn out as though he were up for re-election. The strategy is risky because narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate are at stake and in light of the widespread opposition to his war with Iran and ongoing concern about the high cost of living. Hedging his bets, the president has equally sought to lower expectations, telling Fox News host Trey Gowdy Sunday: “When you’re president, whether you’re a Republican or Democrat or whether you’re a good president or a bad president, you lose the midterms, nobody knows why.
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