2026-09-11T10:03:18.861Z / 路透社
达拉斯9月11日电（路透社）——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普本周在共和党首次举办的中期选举大会上，向选民发出了一项冒险呼吁：将11月的中期选举视为对他本人的全民公投。
在这场为期两天的集会中，特朗普敦促选民“假装我也在参选名单上”。共和党希望以此打造一场以特朗普为核心的竞选活动，激发政党基础选民的热情，重现助力他在2016年和2024年大选获胜的投票率。
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但路透社对齐聚达拉斯的共和党人的采访显示，他们对这一策略存在不安情绪。即便一些坚定支持特朗普的与会者也质疑，这位因选民对通胀和伊朗战争的担忧而备受压力的总统，是否是竞争性选举中共和党最强有力的代言人。
路透社采访了15名共和党人，他们来自该党最积极的支持者、捐赠者和活动人士群体。其中五人质疑特朗普能否有效吸引共和党保住国会多数席位所需的独立选民。
考虑到本次大会吸引了特朗普最忠实的支持者，这种质疑态度格外值得关注，也呼应了部分在竞争激烈选区参选的共和党议员提出的担忧。
“他无疑在激发基础选民热情，我认为这次大会是个好主意，但我不完全确定这种宣传方式对所有人都有效，”来自华盛顿州的共和党捐赠者伦·赫里蒂奇说道，他还表示自己曾捐款资助本次大会。
赫里蒂奇称，他在特朗普周三晚间的基调演讲后对特朗普有了更多好感，但仍不确定是否应该相信特朗普是共和党最佳代言人。“一方面我相信，另一方面我又非常谨慎，”他说。
特朗普在大会两晚的演讲中几乎没有提及选民最关心的问题——生活成本高企。这一问题导致美国人对他的经济领导能力不满，也让他的支持率跌至历史低点。他声称食品价格正在快速下降，尽管政府数据显示情况并非如此。
他还承诺，如果共和党保住对国会的控制权，将向每位美国成年人发放5000美元的“特朗普红利”，但未说明资金来源。
特朗普周三晚间发表基调演讲时，会场主楼层座无虚席，但在这座可容纳21000人的美国航空中心内，上层看台和数百个侧边座位仍有空位，这削弱了大会在中期选举前展示特朗普政治实力的效果。一直对会场人数十分在意的特朗普，多次声称会场座无虚席。
不过，路透社采访的15名共和党人中有10人认为，将特朗普置于核心位置是共和党最佳策略，认为他激励共和党选民的能力超过了他整体不受欢迎所带来的风险。大多数人相信特朗普能够争取到最忠实支持者之外的选民。
特朗普的赌博
特朗普在共和党内部的支持率远比在党外选民中更稳定。路透社/益普索8月28日至31日开展的民调显示，他的整体支持率为33%，是其总统任期内的最低水平。在共和党选民中，他的支持率从任期最初几天的91%下滑至82%。而在独立选民中，支持率同期下滑幅度更大，从39%降至22%。
民调还显示，民主党在中期选举前的选民基础比共和党更具活力。
共和党战略家、前参议院助手布莱恩·达林称，没有特朗普在选票上，最忠实的特朗普支持者很难被动员起来投票。
将竞选活动围绕特朗普展开“显然是一项冒险策略”，他说，“但我确实认为这比其他选择更好”。
民主党对这一策略表示欢迎。他们认为，特朗普呼吁选民“假装我也在参选名单上”，正中他们下怀——民主党希望将选举变成对特朗普处理经济和伊朗战争方式的全民公投。
出席大会的德克萨斯州退休知识产权律师克里斯汀·加德纳表示，特朗普突出地位可能带来的负面影响，可能会被她眼中民主党向左翼靠拢的趋势抵消，包括得到美国民主社会主义者组织支持的候选人崛起。该左翼政治团体目前在民主党内部扮演着重要角色。
“我认为比特朗普可能造成的伤害更能帮助我们的是那些民主社会主义者，因为独立选民会想：‘等等，这有点太极端了’，”加德纳说，“这就好像，你了解的魔鬼总比不了解的好。”
大会上的发言者试图将民主党描绘成危险的反美极端分子，称他们如果赢得权力，将威胁美国人的生活方式。这是共和党战略的一部分，旨在将选举塑造成一场关乎国家身份和价值观的斗争，从而激发选民热情。
“他是我们唯一的代言人”
这种宣传信息在竞争激烈的选区可能更难奏效，在这些选区，共和党不能假定对民主党的恐惧会超过选民对特朗普的担忧。
该党一些处境最脆弱的候选人干脆避开了达拉斯之行，包括密歇根州众议员汤姆·巴雷特、阿拉斯加州参议员丹·沙利文和缅因州参议员苏珊·柯林斯。巴雷特的竞选团队表示，他留在国内是因为“他的选民都在他的选区”。
田纳西州一位共和党议员的办公室主任里克·威廉姆斯表示，他也不确定特朗普的宣传能否打动独立选民。但他认为，这并非本次大会的主要目的。
“他是我们唯一的代言人，”威廉姆斯说，“我认为这个信息是给两年前投票支持特朗普的人的，”威廉姆斯说，“‘嘿，你得回去投票了。’”
对一些与会者来说，激发特朗普基础选民热情的潜力足以证明这场赌博是值得的。
来自南德克萨斯州的59岁共和党人塔拉科·科斯蒂尼表示，将特朗普置于竞选活动核心存在风险，但他认为打破传统中期选举策略值得一试。
“为什么要一直用老办法？那些办法不管用，”他说，“所以来吧。我们就试试新东西。”
（特朗普中期选举大会的五大核心要点）
本报达拉斯报道：南迪塔·博斯、内森·莱恩；编辑：罗斯·科尔文、霍华德·戈勒
At Dallas convention, some loyalists question Trump-centric midterms strategy
2026-09-11T10:03:18.861Z / Reuters
DALLAS, Sept 11 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump used the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention this week to make a risky appeal to voters: treat November’s midterm elections as a referendum on him.
Trump urged voters to “pretend that I’m on the ballot” during the two-day gathering that kicked off what Republicans hope will be a Trump-focused campaign aimed at galvanizing the party’s base and recreating the turnout that powered his 2016 and 2024 election victories.
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But interviews with Republicans gathered in Dallas underscored unease about that strategy. Even some attendees who strongly support Trump questioned whether a president weighed down by voter concerns over inflation and the Iran war was the party’s strongest messenger in competitive races.
Reuters spoke to 15 Republicans drawn from some of the party’s most engaged supporters, donors and activists. Five expressed doubts about whether Trump could effectively appeal to the independents that Republicans will need to hold onto their majorities in Congress.
The skepticism was notable given the convention attracted Trump’s most committed supporters and echoed the concerns raised by some Republican lawmakers running in competitive districts.
“He’s definitely energizing the base and I think the convention was a good idea, but I’m not entirely sure if this pitch is going to work for everybody,” said Len Heritage, a Republican donor from Washington state who said he contributed money to help fund the convention.
Heritage said he came away from Trump’s keynote address on Wednesday night with a greater appreciation for Trump, but he was still torn over whether to believe him to be the party’s best messenger. “A part of me does, but a part of me is very cautious,” he said.
Trump said little in his speeches on both nights of the convention to address voters’ top concern – the high cost of living that has helped to drive his approval ratings to historic lows as Americans sour on his economic leadership. He said food prices were rapidly declining, despite government data to the contrary.
He did promise every American adult a $5,000 “Trump dividend” if Republicans retain control of Congress, although he did not say how that would be funded.
The arena floor was full by the time Trump delivered his keynote address on Wednesday, but much of the upper deck and hundreds of side seats in the 21,000-seat American Airlines Center remained vacant, undercutting the convention’s effort to showcase Trump’s political strength ahead of the midterms. Trump, who has long fixated on crowd size, repeatedly described the arena as packed.
Still, 10 of the 15 Republicans Reuters spoke to said putting Trump front and center was the party’s best strategy, arguing that his ability to motivate Republican voters outweighed the risks posed by his broader unpopularity. Most expressed confidence that Trump could win over voters beyond his most loyal supporters.
THE TRUMP GAMBLE
Trump’s standing has held up far better among Republicans than among voters outside the party. His overall approval stood at 33% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted August 28-31, the lowest level of his presidency. Among Republicans, his approval had slipped from 91% in the first days of his term to 82%. Among independents, it had fallen much more sharply, from 39% to 22% over the same period.
Opinion polls also suggest Democrats enter the midterms with a more energized voter base than Republicans.
Brian Darling, a Republican strategist and former Senate aide, said Trump’s most devoted voters can be difficult to mobilize without him on the ballot.
Shaping the Republican campaign around Trump was “obviously a risky strategy,” he said, “but I do think that it’s better than the alternative.”
Democrats have welcomed that calculation. They argue that Trump’s plea to voters to “pretend that I’m on the ballot” plays into their effort to make the election a referendum on his handling of the economy and the Iran war.
Christine Gardner, a retired intellectual property lawyer from Texas attending the convention, said any downside from Trump’s prominence could be outweighed by what she sees as Democrats’ shift to the left, including the rise of candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, a left-wing political group now playing a prominent role in the Democratic Party.
“I think the thing that’s going to help us more than he (Trump) could possibly hurt us is those DSAs, because the independents are gonna go, ‘Wait a minute, that’s a little bit way too far,’” Gardner said. “And it’s almost like OK, the devil you know is better.”
Speakers at the convention sought to portray Democrats as dangerous anti-American extremists who would threaten Americans’ way of life if they won power, part of a Republican strategy to energize their voters by casting the election as a battle for the country’s identity and values.
‘HE’S THE ONLY MESSENGER WE HAVE’
That message may be harder to sell in closely contested races, where Republicans cannot assume fears about Democrats will outweigh voters’ concerns about Trump.
Some of the party’s most vulnerable candidates stayed away from Dallas altogether, including Representative Tom Barrett of Michigan, Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Senator Susan Collins of Maine. Barrett’s campaign said he remained home because “his voters are in his district.”
Rick Williams, a field representative for a Republican lawmaker in Tennessee, said he was also unsure whether Trump’s pitch would resonate with independents. But he argued that was not primarily the purpose of the convention.
“He’s the only messenger we have,” Williams said. “I think the message is to the Trumper that voted two years ago,” Williams said. “‘Hey, you’ve got to go back.’”
For some convention-goers, the potential to energize Trump’s base was enough to justify the gamble.
Talako Kostini, a 59-year-old Republican from South Texas, said that putting Trump at the center of the effort carried risks, but he argued that breaking with the traditional midterm playbook was worth trying.
“Why keep on doing things the old way? They don’t work,” he said. “So here we go. Let’s just try something new.”
(Five big takeaways from Trump’s midterm convention)
Reporting by Nandita Bose and Nathan Layne in Dallas; Editing by Ross Colvin and Howard Goller