Politics

The far-right leader pushing Germans to forget the Nazi past

He won’t tell his German friends to “forget the Nazi past”, but his thoughts always lead to that.
Hans-Thomas Tillschneider is a 48-year-old member of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD), based in the east state of Saxony-Anhalt. He was little-known outside his rural constituency until recent times. He may be in the position soon to realize the most ambitious goal of his party’s extreme faction, namely redefining the postwar identity of Germany and steering Germans away from the Nazi past.
This history is “present in an odd way — like a zombie.” Tillschneider said to POLITICO on July, at the AfD’s conference in Magdeburg in eastern Germany. It’s a dead entity. This isn’t normal. “That isn’t good at all.”
Germany’s so-called Erinnerungskultur (culture of memory) is central to the country’s self-conception and has long been an essential part of its existence. West Germany’s acknowledgment of Nazi crimes and Holocaust during the years following World War II, though halting at times, helped restore its standing as a democratic nation, allowing it to join Western alliances. In order to avoid a resurgence of Nazism in the country, its constitution was designed with safeguards that repudiated Nazism.
The AfD leaders who are now mostly concentrated in the rural parts of former East Germany, believe that the “culture of memory” has perpetuated a guilt cult, which some call “guilt-ridden” and is intended to create self-hatred in German Volk. Volk, the term used for “people,” holds a near-mystic significance for those on the right. They do not deny Nazi crimes but argue that the culture and politics of reckoning have damaged Germans’ identity. This has left them weak and vulnerable, especially to globalist forces like the EU or the U.S.
Tillschneider’s ideas are not new. As old as Germany’s culture and tradition of remembering the past, the backlash is against it. As the architect of AfD’s plan for governing Saxony Anhalt, he will soon have more power to make these ideas a reality than anyone else in Germany’s recent history. Tillschneider is the AfD spokesperson in the state legislature for education and culture policy. He’s a strong candidate to lead a new ministry overseeing school curriculums and funding.
Tillschneider, a member of his Saxony Anhalt electoral district in Saxony, said: “We would like to share the joy that comes with being German.” He spoke at a “family festival” organized by AfD in Querfurt on a cloudy August afternoon. It’s an occasion for celebration. “Celebrate the fact that your German.”
He added that this did not mean the AfD will eliminate lessons in schools on Nazi crimes. He said that the AfD would instead “shift the focus” so as to reduce the urgency of Nazi crimes in the present.
He said: “Yes, of course I would also like to have history lessons on the Third Reich, but good history courses.” The best history lessons convey an understanding of how different the past was.
‘More Bismarck, less Hitler’
Tillschneider is a former professor of German history who has been a bespectacled bearded man for many years. He seems to have little chance in advancing the German Identity Revolution that the extreme right long desired.
Tillschneider was born in Romania in Romanian during the Cold War. He grew up as a member of a German speaking minority community in that region, whose roots go back to the Habsburg rule. When he was a young child, his family moved from Romania to West Germany. He became fascinated by Islamic studies at university. As he explains, the topic was unfamiliar and foreign to him. Later, he studied in Syria and earned a PhD before publishing his book “The Origins of Legal Hermeneutics in Early Islam.”
Tillschneider, who moved to east Germany in later years, began to portray Islam as being fundamentally incompatible to German society. He became an influential figure within the “New Right,” which is a group of radical intellectuals that recasts old extremist ideologies in terms more acceptable to the culture. In 2017, he became involved with an extremist faction of the AfD, Der Flugel (the Wing), alongside Thuringian political figure Bjorn Höcke. Hocke was widely condemned for having called Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial, near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, “a monument of shame”. He demanded a “180 degree turn” in Germany’s memory politics. Der Flugel was disbanded in 2020 but members of the group, such as Tillschneider have become more powerful in the AfD since.
Tillschneider is the AfD’s main architect of its program on how to wield the power in Saxony Anhalt. The root of the problem is a series of measures that aim to “stabilize” German identity through re-directing cultural funding and revising curriculums, which are under state control. Tillschneider announced that he would change history classes to be more Bismarck-oriented and less Hitler-oriented. This controversial phrase was recently removed from the government manifesto. In its program, the party also calls for cutting state funding for anti-German arts and developing “patriotic” tourism.
Leaders in the parties say that they do not intend to remove memorials for Nazi crimes, but instead will restore and fund those which “honor sacrifices made by soldiers” during both World Wars. The program states that “this support should be given to all monuments without any petty politics,” and it is intended for them all. The program reads: “Fallen Soldiers gave their life to defend their nation. “Recognizing this sacrifice and recognizing it is the first step in a new patriotic turn.”
Perhaps it’s no accident that a similar revolution in German Identity would occur in former East Germany where AfD has taken hold. West Germany’s attempt to confront the past was imperfect, but the East German state narrative was that the people of East Germany had defeated fascism. This was in fact a Western product. After the Berlin Wall fell, many AfD supporters in East Germany believe that a West German narrative of Nazism was forced on them.
Tillschneider believes there is another reason why the East will be the first to experience a revolution — the fact that eastern Germans are already familiar with what it’s like to witness a regime fall.
He spoke in an uncontrollable torrent at the AfD festival. “As the result of peaceful revolution people have seen a change and are now more reflective,” said he. He said that western Germans, on the other hand, “have stewed in the same broth for 80 years.”
“Love of the Homeland is Not a Crime”
As attendees queued for beer and free bratwurst at the AfD family festival — held on an arid field on the outskirts of Querfurt, beside an agricultural-machinery plant — Tillschneider took the stage before an “Our Country First” placard and declared that they had ample reason to celebrate: the establishment parties, he said, were nearing their demise.
He yelled loudly, his voice filling the room. “We are celebrating that we will be free from the oppressive policies which have been directed at us, which have stripped us of our independence, and which impoverishes us,” he said. On Sept. 6th, for the first, and it’s not just campaigning, we will have a real chance to stop this nightmare.
Ulrich Siegmund was the AfD’s leading candidate for Saxony Anhalt, and could be its future premier. He then appeared on stage, to a rock star reception. His charismatic smile and his popularity online belie the extreme politics of his state-based party. The intelligence services have classified the AfD as an organization that seeks to “abolish parliamentary democracy as it is currently practiced.”
Tillschneider is the AfD’s brain, if Siegmund represents the AfD here in Saxony Anhalt. Siegmund made this point in his speech when he thanked Tillschneider for “hundreds” of hours spent on the AfD’s manifesto.
Siegmund told Tillschneider, “I will need him in the next five year because we are making history together.” The sun will rise in the east but shine on all of Germany!
Tillschneider hurried from tent to tent in a frantic rush to ensure that everything ran smoothly. He told a group volunteers to not sell the tote bag for anything less than EUR10 as he gave them the box.
Gesine Sauer, 48, is a social worker in the region who agreed that Tillschneider was right to make Germans proud about their past.
She said, “Everyone always focuses on a small portion of German History — this has nothing to with trying to ignore it or deny its existence — but German History is much more,” We are forced, on all sides, to deal with the question of guilt. This is wrong and not a good development. We should instead reflect on the achievements of our past,” said Ms. Schreiber, listing German accomplishments from history in both medicine and industry.
Some put it simply. One woman, in her sixties and wearing a bracelet with the colors of Germany’s flag said: “I would say it was 90 years ago. At some point we just have to let the past go.”
As he stood in line to buy beer, wearing a shirt with the words “Love of the Homeland is Not a Crime,” a 51 year old railroad worker said, “With us, saying you love your home country will stamp you as a Nazi.”
The majority of attendees cited, however, other reasons to vote for AfD, including: the economic and industrial downturn; refugee support from the state while Germans struggle to pay bills; government refusal to accept Russian gas at a low price while providing billions of dollars in federal assistance to Ukraine.
Tillschneider, and other far-right extremists, believe that these tangible problems are connected with the German identity crisis: The country’s unwillingness to pursue its interests stems from a “anti-German strain” of thinking in the country.
Tillschneider, speaking from a tent beneath the festival’s main stage, said: “We have an identity that is cracked. That’s why our policies are destructive in all areas.
He outlined ideas to repair the German soul, including a “pride” month celebrating German culture and heritage as well as a German music festival — “not Baroque music or European Music,” he explained. “But German music.”
He denied that the aim was to have Germans forget their Nazi past. He described a seemingly similar process.
He said that the goal was to make this history “no more urgent, not so intrusive and no longer present.”
He said: “Just because it’s no longer there doesn’t make it forgotten.”
Nette Nostlinger contributed reporting.

Politics

Miliband rejects chief rabbi’s claim British Jews in greater danger after sanctions move

Ed Miliband, the Foreign Secretary has dismissed the Chief Rabbi’s claim that British Jews face greater danger after UK sanctions were announced on Israeli settlements within the West Bank.
Miliband, a proud British Jew, said he did not agree with UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis who called the decision a “truly dreadful day”. He added that it would only “foster the extremism that they are trying to combat”.
Miliband stated that “we all need to do a lot more to combat antisemitism”, but he believes we can achieve this and still stand up for British Values.
In the UK, antisemitic incidents are on the rise. The UK has imposed sanctions against trade with illegal settlements located in the West Bank occupied.
In the first half of 2026 the Community Security Trust, an organization that offers security to the Jewish Community, reported 1,926 anti-Jewish incidents across the UK, which is a 21% rise compared with the same period of 2025.
The Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who is the leader of his government, defended its decision by telling parliamentarians that Britain must stand up for justice against injustice.
He said: “When people are bullied from their homes, we’ll always be with them.”
Palestinian President welcomed UK decision saying that it is “an important move towards confronting Israel colonial system, and its abuses against Palestinians”.
The reaction of the Jewish community in the UK to the possible security implications and sanctions has been mixed.
The Chief Rabbi called the announcement of the Government “little more” than a political banner bearing mendacious anti Israel rhetoric.
Sir Ephraim stated: “Gesture Politics of This Kind Feeds Into An Increasingly Hostile Discourse About Israel. And The Cumulative Effect of Such Punitive Policies is To Further Empower Those, At Home and Abroad, Who Use Hatred As A Weapon Against Jews.”
When asked about Mirvis’s remarks, Miliband replied: “I do not agree with the chief Rabbi, someone… whom I have great regard.”
According to him, he told BBC Radio 4 Today that anyone who blames British Jews, or Jews anywhere in the world, for the actions taken by the Israeli government is perpetrating antisemitism.
The Jewish Leadership Council warned that the decision of the British government “risked becoming a boycott of Israel de facto” and Miliband was accused of giving in to the pressure of the extreme elements within British society.
Board of Deputies of British Jews: The decision to announce the news before Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year Festival that begins this Friday, brings with it “concerns about communal security on the highest level… especially felt by British Jews”.
The statement noted that it has warned Israel about the “intolerable violence by settler groups” which harms Israel’s image.
The Greater Manchester Police announced Wednesday that additional resources will be provided during Jewish High Holy Days in order to “provide extra visibility and security”, and “ensure all can celebrate safely”.
Dave Meeney, Ch Supt Dave said that “our officers will continue to work with Jewish communities in this period of importance for their faith. We understand it is a moment which could bring increased concern for the Jewish community.”
Na’amod, a group of UK Jews who want to stop Israel’s occupation, and support equality between Palestinians and Israelis, welcomed Wednesday’s decision. They said they had been waiting for years to see the British Government take action.
There is no single Jewish view of Israel. “We reject the claim that Tuesday’s UK government measures would contribute to antisemitism.”
According to the Movement for Progressive Judaism, “while it is important not to ignore the vulnerability of British Jews”, actions directed towards Israeli settlements are “not the same thing as an assault on Jews”.
In a press release, it stated that “we should be careful not to blur the lines between these two groups.”
The diplomatic row
These sanctions sparked a diplomatic dispute with Israel, which closed down the British Consulate in East Jerusalem. It also banned 11 members of parliament and an activist from entering the country.
Amichai Chkli, Israel’s Diaspora minister, wrote on Wednesday to the Israeli border controller recommending several others British-linked organisations and individuals be denied entry into Israel.
Oxfam is on the list, as well as Save the Children and Islamic Relief Worldwide.
Miliband announced the sanctions on Tuesday in the Commons. He said that a “new approach” is needed due to the controversial E1 settlement plan, which would divide East Jerusalem from the West Bank and effectively separate the two.
He told the MPs the UK also agreed that ethnic cleansing was taking place in the West Bank, accusing the “settler terrorists”, of driving Palestinians off their land.
Sanctions will be imposed on companies and individuals who provide services such as construction or financing settlements. Advertising illegal settlements will be banned in the UK. Miliband stated that the implementation of these measures may take as long as nine months.

Politics

Rhode Island’s governor faces formidable primary opponent and more to watch today

Rhode Island voters will go to the polls on Wednesday with Gov. Daniel McKee facing a primary challenge from Helena Foulkes, with the latest Emerson College poll having Foulkes ahead by 15 points in a rematch of the 2022 primary, where McKee just narrowly came out on top.
While 25% of voters were undecided at the time of the poll and McKee did gain 5% since May, he is among the nation’s least popular governors, ranked as the third lowest approval rating for a governor by Morning Consult. If McKee loses, he will be the first elected sitting governor to lose in a primary since 2014.
Here are the races to watch today:
Rhode Island governor’s race
Originally serving as lieutenant governor, McKee assumed the position in 2021 after Gina Raimondo was tapped by former President Joe Biden to become secretary of commerce. He was reelected in 2022, but his first full term has been plagued by the Washington Bridge closure.
The westbound bridge which carries traffic from East Providence to Providence was shut down in December 2023 after broken anchor rods were discovered. The rebuild of the bridge is set to cost $427 million and is scheduled to be completed in Nov. 2028, but the project was initially set to cost $368 million and be finished this past August. Whether or not McKee is responsible, the bridge has swayed voters away, said Maureen Moakley, a professor emeritus at University Rhode Island.
“He is unpopular,” Moakley said. “He was doomed from Day One because of the bridge…the attitude of the voters I think is we need some change, we need some new people.”
Foulkes has never served in public office, but she has political ties. Her uncle and grandfather, Chris and Thomas Dodd, were senators, and she is endorsed by Nancy Pelosi, who was college roommates with Foulkes’ mother.
The former CVS pharmacy president has campaigned on housing and affordability, some of the most important issues of this election season. She has leaned into her 25-year-career as evidence for why she can make healthcare more accessible, such as by raising Medicaid reimbursement rates, and she’s proposed a Millionaire’s Tax, which would allot money to build over 20,000 homes by adding an additional 3% tax on incomes over $1,000,000.
Adam Myers, a professor of political science at Providence College, told CBS that while these are top-of-mind issues for voters, this is not a matter of Foulkes’ policies against McKee’s.
“This election is more of a referendum on McKee than it is a vote like about her,” Myers said. “They don’t perceive McKee as a competent governor, and they think that Foulkes is going to bring more competence to the position, and I don’t really think it has a whole lot to do with her stances on the issues.”
The Cook Political Report labels the general election as solid Democratic. Republicans Aarron Guckian and Elaine Pelino will square off to be the GOP candidate in November.
Providence mayor
McKee may not be the only state official to lose his position. As the Democrat Party sees a rise in more radical candidates, Providence hosts its own test of ideology.
Democratic socialist and State Representative David Morales is challenging first-term Mayor Brett Smiley. Morales carries endorsements from progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna. Smiley has tried to draw stark contrast from his opponent, alleging Morales wants to defund the police. Morales has denied that he would, but the 27-year-old does support more leftist policies like rent stabilization.
“It’s possible that all of these major elected officials in Rhode Island will lose their races,” Myers said. “It will definitely be kind of like a minor earthquake in Rhode Island politics if that happens.”

Politics

Trump gets one more starring role at GOP’s midterm convention

Since the beginning of his presidency, Donald Trump has been the main protagonist in his political party. He is a force that drives its conventions, rallies and identity.
This week Republicans have taken that dedication a step forward, gathering at Trump’s request in Texas for an unprecedented convention to honor him. Trump will attend both evenings of the convention and observe from his suite the display of loyalty by party leaders and their allies.
The reality that this could be the final Trumpfest is becoming increasingly apparent.
In just 55 days voters will determine who will control Congress during the last two years of Trump’s presidency. His unpopularity is causing a fierce backlash against his own party, and has even led some Republicans to miss the Dallas festivities. In the next few weeks, the focus will shift to the Republicans jockeying for his successor, as Trump begins to face a lengthy countdown before leaving office.
Matt Schlapp is the Chairman of the American Conservative Union. But the truth is, we will have to find out how to do that.
In the last 10 years, walking into any large conservative event meant entering a world dominated by Donald Trump. They’re all over the place: his name, red hats and his likeness. Impersonators of Trump with his hair and other recognizable features pose for photos with supporters. Some flash Trump sneakers or watches.
A golden statue of Trump will be wheeled in 2021 to the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Jon McNaughton’s surreal portrayals of Trump have gained him a large following. He has depicted Trump as Atlas, a boxer destroying Joe Biden and as the fifth Face on Mount Rushmore. The work of McNaughton has been a hit with Trump fans and caught even the attention of President Trump. McNaughton has begun to think about what it would mean to depict Trump as an historical figure, rather than the president he is currently.
McNaughton, in an email to CNN, said that Trump would become a more prominent archetype for future works, just as I have used Washington, Lincoln Kennedy, or Reagan in the past to illustrate different aspects of American history. Trump represents both restoration and disruption, sometimes at the same time. “Viewers can now decide what these ideas mean.”
Trump considers his legacy
Trump has himself shown signs that he is aware of the clock ticking.
In a recent interview with New York Magazine, the president said that he wanted to make a mark in Washington because, “nobody else will be able to do this once I am gone.” He imagined being at home, after stepping down from office, and watching his successors take credit for manufacturing plants that were built during his tenure.
Trump asked his audience, “Will you remember I did this?”
Trump’s advisers are well aware that Trump won’t be at the forefront of their party as 2028 approaches. White House officials confirmed that Trump privately sought advice from aides on how to avoid the traps that come with a lame duck presidency.
One of the officials stated, “It is because he’s so focused on his own legacy.”
No one expects Trump’s political career to end quietly.
It is likely that he will play a major role in selecting his successor. This could be Vice President JDVance, Secretary Marco Rubio, or anyone else. A president who transformed America’s celebration of its 250th anniversary into the standard Trump rally, and created a midterm congress could have plenty more reasons to call Republicans together before or after he leaves office.
Doug Heye is a GOP strategist who has been in the industry for many years. He said that if Trump is not like any president before him, it is foolish to think he will be just another lame duck.
Sean Spicer said that he would not be surprised to see Republicans find new ways to engage the base by holding events in support of Trump.
Spicer stated that “no one is able to get as many people together like Trump.” Spicer said, “If you get Trump to keep doing them then that is a big thing.”
Trump may not be able to prevent all the changes that will occur, but even he cannot stop them.
Republicans with presidential aspirations will start to maneuver for positions after the midterms. This will force the GOP to consider the direction of the GOP and Trump’s future movement once Trump is gone. It will be the very first time since 2012 that someone else than Trump accepts the nomination of the Republican Party at the next Republican National Convention.
After Trump, the GOP will be in a new direction
It has been possible to see a glimpse of how that could look.
Trump missed the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas this year for the first time since 2010. Schlapp’s organization, which organizes CPAC, says that Trump’s lack of attendance initially disappointed the attendees. However, it gave Schlapp insight on what grassroots activism and conservative events might be like after Trump leaves office.
The presence of Schlapp was so overwhelming that it allowed for other dynamic to take place.
Trump is using the midterms to send a message to Republican voters and officials: either rally behind his presidency or let Democrats destroy it. In the first ads from Trump’s political campaign, he is portrayed as “the strongest, most resilient individual,” according to a narration. There are no other Republicans mentioned.
The president is scheduled to tour the nation for the next eight-weeks, holding more than 30 rallies planned in battleground districts and states. MAGA Inc., an aligned Trump super PAC had $400,000,000 on hand in the last month. The president has made it clear that he will supervise how this money is spent. The group announced earlier this month that it purchased $10,000,000 of advertising space in support of Texas Senate Candidate Ken Paxton.
This approach is designed to test whether Trump’s supporters who consistently supported him during his election campaigns and accepted his party transformation will still show up when Trump doesn’t appear on the ballot. The gamble isn’t without risks, as Trump’s popularity has continued to stagnate. It is a gamble that comes with risk, as his popularity continues to stall.
Gruters said that Trump’s support among Republicans is still strong, and that they would be relying on it in Dallas, and throughout the rest of the fall.
Gruters explained that when you are in the bottom ninth inning, and there are runners on base, and you have a low score, it is important to bring up your best batter. For us, this would be the President of the United States.

Politics

Gov Dan McKee faces primary rematch amid Washington Bridge construction delays

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Democratic Gov. Dan McKee, the Rhode Island governor who faces a possible downfall due to the three-year partial shutdown of an important bridge in his state on Wednesday, is fighting for the life of his career.
McKee assumed his first office in March 2020 when the then-Gov. Gina Raimondo left her post to take over as U.S. Commerce Secretary. Then, he was elected for another full term four years earlier. McKee now tries to prevent becoming the first elected Governor in 12 years not to be re-elected.
Helena Buonanno Foulkes is the former executive of CVS, located in Rhode Island, who is now facing off against him in a primary match.
These 12 midterm races will determine which party controls the Senate
McKee, the niece of the former Democratic Senator Chris Dodd from Connecticut and neighboring New York, narrowly beat Foulkes in a field of multiple candidates in 2022’s Democratic Primary before winning in this solidly blue State.
According to Rhode Island’s campaign finance records, Foulkes has outspent the Governor by nearly a two-to-1 margin.
McKee’s handling of the Washington Bridge reconstruction, which closed in December 2023 when officials discovered critical structural flaws, is also a negative.
Before its westbound span had been closed, the bridge carried approximately 100,000 vehicles daily. The eastbound span has been reconfigured to accommodate both westbound and eastbound traffic.
The original estimate by the state officials was that the bridge would be reopened this year. However, the date of completion has been pushed to November 2028.
McKee and Foulkes are fighting over how to bid for the reconstruction of the bridge and when it will be completed.
McKee, in an attempt to counter criticism about his management of the bridge project, has called Foulkes a corporate executive out of touch who is trying to win an election.
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The high rates of electricity Rhode Islanders are charged and the severe lack of affordable housing in the state also work against him.
In the general election, the winner of the Democratic primaries will be the favorite against Aaron Guckian – a former actor and first time candidate Elaine Pelino – who is running for Republican nomination. Guckian has been endorsed by the state GOP.
Two longshots are challenging Jack Reed in the Democratic Party’s primaries. Reed has been a senator for over 30 years.
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Raymond McKay is the Republican Senate’s presumptive nominee. He was the former President of the Rhode Island Republican Assembly, and also a leading official in the state GOP.
In the 1st Congressional District of the State, Democratic Rep. Gabe Amo is not facing any opposition to his re-election. Entrepreneur Kellie Keenan will be the presumed GOP candidate.
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Seth Magaziner, a Democratic Representative from Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District is presumed to be the nominee.
In the Republican primaries, Victory Mellor (businessman) and Stephen Skoly (physician) are in a face-off.

Politics

What to know about the Republican midterm convention : NPR

The unconventional midterm convention, which begins in Dallas on Wednesday, will feature President Trump as the headliner for both of the event’s two nights. The event is being called a “Trumpapalooza” – a phrase that Republican National Committee chairman Joe Gruters, who has overused it for years, no longer uses.
Every four years political parties hold large, televised conventions for presidential nomination. However, this year is not a presidential election. Midterm conventions are a non-issue (at least since Democrats discontinued them in 1982 after only a brief run).
One might ask, in order to hold onto their narrow majority, why Republicans would focus so much on a President whose approval ratings are low.
Trump outlined the argument at a recent rally.
Trump said in third-person, “The issue we face is that they claim that Trump performs well when he appears on the ballot.” When he is not on the ballot his supporters don’t show up and don’t cast their votes.
Trump told the crowd at a rally in South Carolina for Republican Senator Darline Graham, “I want you to pretend that I’m on the ballot.” Come and vote. “It’s important to vote.”
This isn’t a simple plea to Republican voters who are in the runoff in a red-state. Trump’s advisors and Trump are working to get back the voters that helped him win the presidency in 2024. These voters don’t show up when there’s no presidential election at the top.
It’s an approach that is different from the majority of presidents who are dealing with political challenges in midterm years. In 2022, at one of his few rallies in the year, then-President Biden joked with a Democratic Senator about what to do.
Biden made a joke that he has used over and over again: “I told him I would come to campaign against him or for him. Whichever will be the most helpful.”
The polls indicate that Democratic voters have a much higher level of excitement about the midterm elections than Republicans.
Trump is not a man who follows the rules of normal politics. Two midterm ads were aired by Securing American Greatness – a Trump-aligned dark money political group. The ads did not mention the Republicans who were running for House or Senate. The president was filmed in slow motion for both ads.
The convention organizers have said that the Dallas gathering will be centered on issues affecting the midterm elections, such as lowering costs of living, raising incomes and securing our border.
Other Republican leaders will also be featured, in addition to Trump, Vice President Vance and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Trump had endorsed Paxton for the Senate over an incumbent Republican, but now he faces a cash-deficit campaign.
According to an NPR study, which used race ratings from Cook Political Report as a basis, less than half the Republican candidates running in House or Senate elections are listed on the convention speaker list.
When reporters asked about his plans for the convention on Capitol Hill, Republican Rep. Zach Nunn from Iowa replied, “We will be working very hard in our district.”
Reelection is a close race.
Vance doesn’t seem to be letting anyone know if there is a concern about the White House regarding attendance.
Vance, speaking at the White House’s weekly press conference last week, said: “The President and I could go to national television and present [the] case.” We don’t have to have a Congressman who is in a close race there all the time.
It’s important to know who is going to be there. On Wednesday, the NFL’s season opener will be a Super Bowl rematch between this year’s Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots. On Thursday, there’s also a football match in primetime.
The Democrats won’t be planning their own convention, and counterprogramming is likely to be limited.
John Anzalone is a Democratic consultant and pollster. He said that most elected officials do not want to attend [presidential nomination conventions]. The expiration date for conventions was a very long time ago.
He argues that the current political climate is “disastrous for Republicans seeking office, and the Republican Convention will not change this narrative in any way for the midterm election.”
Alex Triantafilou, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party said that he found it easy to find people who were interested in coming. The state party received far fewer ticket allocations than it would for a presidential convention.
Triantafilou said, “We were told from the beginning that this was an excellent opportunity to bring together the troops as well as raise money for our party. These two things are definitely what happened.”
He stated that the Ohio state party uses the convention as a way to excite the grassroots Republicans.
Triantafilou said, “He’s very popular in this area.” We do speak a great deal about turning out low-propensity voters. The president is the only one who can turn out Ohio’s low-propensity voters. “We welcome it.”
It remains to be seen if this new midterms strategy will work, but many Republicans believe it is the only way the GOP has to minimize its losses during what’s expected to be an extremely difficult year for Republicans.
Terry Schilling is the president of American Principles Project. A Republican organization. We’ve run away from President Trump in past midterms, and almost always lost.
Schilling says that he will attend the Republican convention, and he also expects to see many of his Republican friends. He wants them to be energized, ready and able to deliver a clear message in the run-up towards midterm elections.