Exclusive: GOP plans socialism telethon at midterm convention

• They're essentially planning a "But they're worse" campaign targeting the ascendant Democratic left and socialism.

Driving the news: Republicans will make progressive politicians and activists recurring characters throughout the Sept. 9-10 convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

• GOP operatives spent months compiling footage of Democratic figures — including left-wing commentator Hasan Piker and Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico — that they'll use throughout the convention to paint Democrats as outside the mainstream.

"Our video trove is endless," a convention source told Axios.

• Organizers will particularly focus on Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, who backs Medicare for All and criticizes Israel.
• Trump has blasted El-Sayed, a Muslim, as a "communist" and a "man of hate" who "hates Israel." (El-Sayed, an epidemiologist, has said he's a capitalist who disagrees with Israel's actions in Gaza, not his "sisters and brothers of the Jewish faith.")

Zoom in: Months of polling shaped the GOP convention, organizers say.

• "Everyday Americans" will tout Republican achievements on cutting taxes, lowering prescription drug costs and improving border security — a tactic organizers say worked at the 2024 convention.
• Organizers believe that will reinforce their argument that Republicans are focused on kitchen-table issues while Democrats have been overtaken by left-wingers whose policies will hurt Americans.
• The convention will be making that argument at a time when many Republicans have been frustrated by Trump's lack of focus on the economy and affordability issues.

Republicans will also spotlight Trump's tax exemption for some tipped income, crime-focused urban policies and the administration's new child investment accounts.

• Other points of focus will be Vice President Vance's "anti-fraud" task force and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA movement. Trump strategists believe MAHA can again help broaden the GOP coalition.
• As for the increasingly unpopular war in Iran, the GOP will make the case that Trump has taken steps to protect Americans.

Here's what else to expect:

• Vance will speak the evening of Sept. 9, and Trump on Sept. 10. Trump is expected in the convention hall both nights.

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and some other administration officials will have big speaking roles, as will up-and-coming midterm candidates, UFC figures and celebrities.
• Unlike in 2024, when donors and delegates filled the floor, the crowd in Dallas will mostly be MAGA activists.
• The convention will commemorate the first anniversary of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
• GOP operatives Justin Caporale and Tony Sayegh are playing major organizational roles, as they did for the 2020 and 2024 conventions.

Reality check: The convention will test whether Republicans can move voters toward supporting Trump's domestic agenda, which polls consistently have shown is unpopular.

• In a CNN poll out last week, 73% thought Trump wasn't paying enough attention to key domestic issues. 65% said his policies were worsening economic conditions.

The other side: Democrats decided against holding a midterm convention.

• DNC spokesperson Kendall Witmer told Axios: "While everyday Americans struggle to pay their bills, fill up their tanks, or put food on the table, Republicans are hosting a multimillion-dollar celebration to satisfy Donald Trump's massive ego and tie vulnerable Republican candidates closer to his failed agenda."