§29 —
On the midterm convention
Democrat
$25,000
The festival has been touring. June 14, 2025: the Army's 250th anniversary parade, estimated by the Army at $25 million to $45 million, on the president's 79th birthday; he said the event was not tied to it 1. June 14, 2026: a UFC card on the South Lawn, on his 80th, for which the administration told a federal court "well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor" had been spent 2. In between, a ballroom, whose records put the estimate at $600 million, half from taxpayers 3.
Then Dallas, where a seat for a member of the House ran $25,000, and county-party packages $5,000 to $20,000 4; several lawmakers said they would be in their districts instead 5. And the closer: "If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them ... I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000." Then: "I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot" 6. He is not on the ballot. The House is, on November 3.
Sources
- The Army's 250th anniversary parade "estimated to cost between $25 million and $45 million," on 14 June, also the president's 79th birthday; he said the event is not tied to his birthday — CBS News, 16 May 2025 ↑
- "Well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been expended," per the administration's federal court filing, for the UFC event on the president's birthday — TIME, 11 June 2026 ↑
- Records reveal a $600 million estimate for the ballroom project, with half from taxpayers — The Washington Post, 16 June 2026 ↑
- House members paid $25,000 for tickets and lodging; county party packages ran $5,000 to $20,000 — PBS NewsHour, 9 September 2026 ↑
- Swing-state and other Republicans said they would skip the convention to be in their districts — Spotlight PA, 3 September 2026 ↑
- "If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them ... I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000"; "I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot" — Fox News, convention live coverage, 9 September 2026 ↑
Republican
TRUMPAPALOOZA
The party had never held a midterm convention, and the reason to hold one is sound: a party facing a hard November puts its biggest draw on stage. The chairman said as much — "It's gonna be a Trump-a-Palooza" — and the program was built that way, two nights in Dallas with roughly 30,000 expected across both 1. Before the keynote: "We're going to have a tremendous crowd tonight" 1. The next day, on his own platform: "a major, sold out hit, far bigger, better, and more important than anyone thought possible. ... The place was packed! There were thousands of people outside who couldn't get in" 2.
That is the case at full strength. A festival is a turnout operation with a stage, and this party's surest turnout has one name. The chairman's word is honest about it. What the headliner was selling is on the other side of the page.
Sources
- RNC Chairman Joe Gruters: "It's gonna be a Trump-a-Palooza"; a two-day convention in Dallas with roughly 30,000 expected across both nights; "We're going to have a tremendous crowd tonight" — PBS NewsHour, 9 September 2026 ↑
- Truth Social, the day after the first night: "a major, sold out hit, far bigger, better, and more important than anyone thought possible"; "The place was packed! There were thousands of people outside who couldn't get in" — Fox News, convention live coverage, September 2026 ↑
“I couldn't have gone even if somebody asked me. Twenty-five thousand dollars for a member of Congress to get a seat, and the county party packages ran five thousand to twenty. So I read about it after. Before he went on, the headliner said there'd be a tremendous crowd. The next morning, sold out, packed, thousands outside. And near the end, the offer: five thousand dollars to every adult citizen, if the party wins the House and the Senate, "both of them." Excuse me — I know you're packing up. The members paid twenty-five thousand to get in. What does it cost the rest of us to get the five?”— Lou
“Trumpapalooza. That's the party chairman's word, not mine — a festival with one act, where members of Congress pay twenty-five grand to sit in the audience. And the tour's been running a while: a tank parade on his birthday, a cage fight on the South Lawn on his next birthday, a six-hundred-million-dollar ballroom with half the bill going to the taxpayers. Then the closer, Wednesday night: five thousand dollars for every adult in the country, if you hand his party both chambers. He asked the room to pretend he's on the ballot. He isn't. The House is.”
“It's a convention when the members attend, a fundraiser when they pay, and a festival when the chairman is excited, and the dividend is a dividend: the president is simply announcing the return on an investment you haven't made yet, conditional on the investment.”