(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Why Trump’s pathetic midterm convention is a massive fumble [1] ['Lisa Needham'] Date: 2026-08-28 President Donald Trump attends the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9, 2025. The entirely unnecessary midterm convention that President Donald Trump decided to throw himself hasn’t even started yet, and it’s already a failure. Even Republicans are calling this thing a shitshow, and as more details emerge, things are only getting worse. For Republicans, I mean. For us, it’s hilarious. You see, they have a wee bit of a scheduling problem. Nothing big, just that both nights of the convention overlap with NFL openers on Sept. 9 and 10. But surely that won’t matter, right? Seattle Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu celebrates his touchdown on a fumble recovery during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game against the New England Patriots on Feb. 8. AP America does not cry out for a Super Bowl rematch between the Patriots and the Seahawks, set to air on NBC and Peacock for the first game of 2026. It cries out for … a keynote speech from Vice President JD Vance? Yeah, you can see the problem here. Would you rather watch the least charismatic man alive peer through his piggy little eyes, sneer at you, and threaten the pope or whatever, or the two best teams in the NFL compete in a highly anticipated game? But that’s only night one. Surely things will be better for night two, when the San Francisco 49ers play against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia, set to air on Netflix. Unlike broadcast NBC channels, at least some people won’t pay for Netflix, so surely they’ll tune in to hear Trump speak on night two. Who would want to miss another opportunity to hear Trump ramble about how he’s going to rename the White House and the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and all Circle K gas stations after himself? Or what about how he’ll sign an executive order banning the MINI Cooper from having the Union Jack on its roof? And of course there will be some virulent transphobic stuff in there too, and he’ll probably claim for the zillionth time that he’s won the war in Iran along with a thousand other wars. Related | Even Republicans are calling Trump’s midterm convention a ‘sh-tshow’ Make no mistake, this is 100% a Trump joint. Or as House Speaker Mike Johnson says, Trump is “on the ballot” in the midterms. Don’t threaten me with a good time. Maybe Trump can have his Federal Communications Commission goon Brendan Carr threaten the networks to kill the NFL opener and air Trump’s ramblings and paeans to himself instead. But if all of this sounds great, and you want to see it in person, it’s gonna cost you. House candidates wanting to be blessed with Trump’s spittle-flecked presence are supposed to give the Republican National Committee $25,000 for the privilege—and that’s the cheapest amount. And according to MS NOW, that money comes from the candidates’ campaign coffers and goes to … shrug emoji, who can say where? David Horsey/Tribune Content Agency Want to be an honorary delegate? I say “honorary” because, since this isn’t a real nominating convention, there’s nothing to delegate. Still, that would run you around $20,000. Though if you want to get real fancy, a cool quarter of a million dollars could land you four tickets, four hotel rooms, and some as-yet-unnamed gifts. Yuck. Imagine the swag bag at a conference that’s currently set to feature “dramatic moments” commemorating Charlie Kirk, to trot out UFC fighters, and to offer what Axios described as “a faster-paced, social media-focused convention designed to produce moments that can break through online, whether or not voters are watching live.” Oh, god, it’s gonna be the groyper teens who run social media for the Trump administration putting this all together. Prepare for a breathtaking level of ahistorical racism. But that isn’t really our concern, because no one is going to watch this thing. Enjoy the kickoff, literally, of football season, and don’t bother giving this nonsense a second thought. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/28/800090496/elections/trump-midterm-convention-massive-fumble-nfl/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/