September 12, 2026 — 1:45pm
Dallas: At the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, 17 supersized photographs lined the walls outside the main arena. Sixteen of them were of Donald Trump (the other was a crowd shot from the previous convention).
This might have been a Republican Party event, but there’s no doubt who it was for.
“I’m not on the ticket,” Trump said during his closing appearance on night two. “You’ve got to pretend. You’ve got to do me the biggest favour you’ve ever done me. You’ve got to do this for me. You’ve got to pretend I’m on the ticket. I’m on the ticket. I’m on the ticket. He’s on the ticket. Pretend I’m on the ticket.”
On the face of it, it’s an odd strategy. Trump’s approval rating nationally is in the 30s: 33 per cent, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1167 Americans at the end of August. It has never been lower throughout this second term.
