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Tate brothers to press for release from US jail during extradition fight

August 27, 2026 10:04 AM UTC / Updated 1 hour ago / Reuters

Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate arrive before U.S. President Donald Trump to attend UFC 327 at Kaseya Center, Miami, U.S., April 11, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

• Britain has until September 16 to submit full extradition request
• Defense proposes bond, passport surrender and location monitoring for release
• Prosecutors cite Romanian allegations brothers sought to influence witnesses

MIAMI, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate are due in U.S. court on Thursday ​to seek release on bail from a Miami jail as they contest extradition to Britain, where they are wanted on ‌rape charges.

The Tate brothers’ hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) before Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis in Miami federal court.

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Andrew Tate, 39, and Tristan Tate, 38, were arrested in Miami on July 18 after Britain requested their extradition to face charges of rape, assault and facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation. The Tate brothers, ​who have dual U.S. and British citizenship, have denied any wrongdoing.

The arrests marked a new phase in the legal troubles ​for the former kickboxers, who have built a large online following promoting their views on masculinity and wealth. ⁠Andrew Tate has previously described himself as a misogynist.

The Tates recruited dozens of women to work for a webcam pornography business starting ​in 2014, and later ran online courses called “Hustler’s University,” prosecutors with the Miami U.S. Attorney’s office said in an August 10 court filing.

DEFENSE ARGUES ​AGAINST DETENTION

The prosecutors said there was a strong presumption in favor of detention in international extradition cases. They said the Tates could pose a danger to the community if released, citing British authorities’ allegations that they strangled victims during forcible rapes, and that they could try to flee.

The prosecutors also pointed to allegations ​by authorities in Romania, where the brothers face human trafficking charges, that they sought to influence witnesses’ statements while released on judicial supervision ​there. Romanian authorities say the Tates threatened to release private information about alleged victims and bribed an alleged victim, the U.S. prosecutors said.

The brothers’ defense ‌lawyers have ⁠said in court filings there was no need to keep them behind bars while the extradition process played out because their “extraordinary public visibility” would make it impractical for them to flee.

They argued the brothers had regularly appeared in court in Romania, where they are on pretrial release. They said the witnesses the Tates were alleged to have bribed were women who wanted to speak on their behalf, and said the ​Tates helped coordinate their travel to ​Bucharest and hired lawyers for ⁠them.

blob:https://www.reuters.com/4b1ff827-76bf-4c8b-bbe7-4a0a7f4f6901

“The Tates’ compliance record is clear and convincing evidence they are not a danger to the community,” the defense lawyers wrote.

The defense lawyers proposed that Louis release them on the conditions they post bond, surrender ​their passports and submit to location monitoring.

BRITISH CHARGES SPAN SEVEN YEARS

The legal process for determining whether the ​Tate brothers may ⁠be extradited could take months. Britain has until September 16 to submit its full extradition request to the State Department, U.S. court records show.

The impetus for the brothers’ arrests in Miami was new charges brought by Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service relating to alleged offenses involving four alleged victims between ⁠July 2010 ​and August 2017.

They had previously faced rape and human trafficking charges in Britain related ​to three alleged victims, the CPS said. A British judge issued a warrant for their arrests in 2024. They have not appeared in British court to enter a ​plea to those charges.

Britain is seeking to extradite the brothers to face both sets of charges.

Reporting by Luc Cohen in Miami Editing by Rod Nickel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Fundraising text signed by VP Vance admits, ‘groceries cost what they cost’

2026-08-27T11:52:03.426Z / CNN

By Matthew Lally, CNN

Published 7:52 AM EDT, Thu August 27, 2026

Video Ad Feedback

Fundraising text signed by VP Vance admits, “groceries cost what they cost”

CNN This Morning

Audie Cornish and the Group Chat break down Vice President Vance’s message on affordability ahead of the midterms

4:18 • Source: CNN

特朗普称霍尔木兹海峡水雷已清除 消息指盟友质疑此说法

2026-08-27 19:12 / 联合早报

美国与伊朗都在争夺对霍尔木兹海峡的控制权。图为伊朗南部阿巴斯港岸外的霍尔木兹海峡。 （路透社）

（华盛顿／德黑兰综合电）彭博社引述消息人士的话报道，美国盟友私下警告，美军并未完全清除伊朗在霍尔木兹海峡布置的80至150枚水雷，他们质疑美国总统特朗普称美军已完全清除伊朗水雷的说法。

美方官员反驳有关评估，称这些数据已经过时。美军中央司令部发言人霍金斯发声明说：“被国际认可的霍尔木兹海峡通行路线，已经完全没有伊朗的水雷。”

特朗普近日屡次称霍尔木兹海峡的扫雷工作已经完成，可以安全航行。但美国盟国的官员们认为，海峡的扫雷已经变得更加复杂，因为许多水雷很可能受海流影响，偏离了原先的位置。

他们说，要让商船有信心通过海峡，需要通过多国联合行动，动用先进扫雷设备及提供空中和海上的护航来同步进行，以解决水雷危害船只安全的问题。

作为国际调解方的卡塔尔，仍在尝试为化解美国与伊朗的僵局找出路。卡塔尔首相穆罕默德星期四（8月27日）访问伊朗首都德黑兰，要与伊方重启外交联系，讨论如何恢复霍尔木兹海峡的航行自由。

来自伊朗高级官员消息称，伊朗和阿曼仍在探讨霍尔木兹海峡协议的细节，双方仍未敲定协议。

过去几周，伊朗与阿曼就管控霍尔木兹海峡的通行问题进行谈判。根据伊阿星期二发表的联合声明，双方讨论了一系列安排，包括在海峡建立一条双方共同商定的安全航运走廊。

伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队早前称伊阿已就领土和收入的分配达成协议，如果美国不接受伊朗的条件，海峡将不会在任何情况下重开。

另外，船运业者警告，美伊战争长期持续，最终可能陷入俄乌战争般的僵局。丹麦油轮公司Torm首席执行长梅尔高认为，市场低估了这场战争所带来的风险，也重演当年对俄乌战争的误判。

2022年2月俄乌战争爆发，不久后，市场人士就认为战争会很快结束。然而，到四年多后的今天，战争仍在持续。

梅尔高对《金融时报》说：“当前最可能的情况是，美伊除了继续当前僵局，都找不到其他解决方案。波斯湾国家领导人发现，他们必须准备应对局势持续多个月甚至几年。”

特朗普称霍尔木兹海峡水雷已清除 消息指盟友质疑此说法

2026-08-27 19:12 / 联合早报

美国与伊朗都在争夺对霍尔木兹海峡的控制权。图为伊朗南部阿巴斯港岸外的霍尔木兹海峡。 （路透社）

（华盛顿／德黑兰综合电）彭博社引述消息人士的话报道，美国盟友私下警告，美军并未完全清除伊朗在霍尔木兹海峡布置的80至150枚水雷，他们质疑美国总统特朗普称美军已完全清除伊朗水雷的说法。

美方官员反驳有关评估，称这些数据已经过时。美军中央司令部发言人霍金斯发声明说：“被国际认可的霍尔木兹海峡通行路线，已经完全没有伊朗的水雷。”

特朗普近日屡次称霍尔木兹海峡的扫雷工作已经完成，可以安全航行。但美国盟国的官员们认为，海峡的扫雷已经变得更加复杂，因为许多水雷很可能受海流影响，偏离了原先的位置。

他们说，要让商船有信心通过海峡，需要通过多国联合行动，动用先进扫雷设备及提供空中和海上的护航来同步进行，以解决水雷危害船只安全的问题。

作为国际调解方的卡塔尔，仍在尝试为化解美国与伊朗的僵局找出路。卡塔尔首相穆罕默德星期四（8月27日）访问伊朗首都德黑兰，要与伊方重启外交联系，讨论如何恢复霍尔木兹海峡的航行自由。

来自伊朗高级官员消息称，伊朗和阿曼仍在探讨霍尔木兹海峡协议的细节，双方仍未敲定协议。

过去几周，伊朗与阿曼就管控霍尔木兹海峡的通行问题进行谈判。根据伊阿星期二发表的联合声明，双方讨论了一系列安排，包括在海峡建立一条双方共同商定的安全航运走廊。

伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队早前称伊阿已就领土和收入的分配达成协议，如果美国不接受伊朗的条件，海峡将不会在任何情况下重开。

另外，船运业者警告，美伊战争长期持续，最终可能陷入俄乌战争般的僵局。丹麦油轮公司Torm首席执行长梅尔高认为，市场低估了这场战争所带来的风险，也重演当年对俄乌战争的误判。

2022年2月俄乌战争爆发，不久后，市场人士就认为战争会很快结束。然而，到四年多后的今天，战争仍在持续。

梅尔高对《金融时报》说：“当前最可能的情况是，美伊除了继续当前僵局，都找不到其他解决方案。波斯湾国家领导人发现，他们必须准备应对局势持续多个月甚至几年。”

WATCH: El-Sayed praised ‘beautiful’ sense of community abroad while trashing US as ‘White supremacy’

2026-08-27T06:00:59-04:00 / Fox News

The Michigan Democratic Senate nominee contrasted childhood summers abroad with what he called ‘deeply atomized’ American life

By Alec Schemmel Fox News

Published August 27, 2026 6:00am EDT | Updated August 27, 2026 6:21am EDT

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403724067112

El-Sayed contrasts ‘beautiful’ life in Egypt with ‘deeply atomized’ America

El-Sayed praises Egypt’s community, saying “deeply atomized” Americans are “desperate to feel something.” (Credit: Exxodus Pictures via Youtube – Aug. 5 and 2019 University of Michigan School of Public Health Commencement via Youtube – May 7, 2019)

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed described Americans as “desperate to feel something” and lamented that “we’re just all living it alone here” while reflecting on the community he experienced during extended childhood stays in Egypt during a podcast episode last year — remarks uncovered after the candidate recently declared that he “hates” one of his home state’s most iconic destinations.

During a late-October 2025 podcast interview, after getting asked what Americans could gain from life “back home,” El-Sayed had a one-word answer: “Community.”

“I think the hardest part about American life right now is that we’ve been, like, deeply atomized,” El-Sayed said, arguing that the connections offered through phones and social media are “not community.” In Egypt and other societies with far more constant human interaction, he said, “you’re constantly enveloped in other people’s humanity.”

UNEARTHED EL-SAYED ESSAY DRAWS EXPLOSIVE TRUMP-BIN LADEN PARALLEL: ‘RECRUITED, RADICALIZED AND REASSURED’

“It’s like a beautiful thing,” El-Sayed said. “And I wish we had more of that.”

Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, at a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan on August 2, 2026.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

The podcast remarks are not the first time El-Sayed has offered pointed criticism of American society and institutions.

During a 2019 University of Michigan School of Public Health commencement address, while discussing racial and economic disparities in Detroit, he said residents had been “directly and purposely marginalized by every level of government” in “a city and a state and a country that has baked racism into its foundation.” Later in the speech, while discussing the Flint water crisis and the country’s political climate, El-Sayed said he had watched American politics “revert to a strain of White supremacy and racism I never thought we’d go back to.”

The comments stand in tension with the Michigan-centered image El-Sayed has presented at times, at one point describing himself as the quintessential “Michigan man.” In recently resurfaced recordings, however, he said he “hates” Mackinac Island, questioned elements of football culture by linking its ethos to historical narratives of slavery and oppression, and argued Americans should find another way to celebrate the Fourth of July in a video sharing four reasons “why fireworks suck.” In a 2021 Substack post El-Sayed also said “toxic masculinity” was “at the heart of America’s most popular sport.”

[MICHIGAN DEM SENATE NOMINEE COMES UNDER FIRE OVER RESURFACED BLOG POST LINKING FOOTBALL TO ‘TOXIC MASCULINITY’]

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403008767112

His campaign has pushed back on the resurfaced material, telling CNN that cherry-picked comments from old podcasts do not reflect his beliefs today and noting that El-Sayed played football and has publicly celebrated the Fourth of July.

During the October 2025 podcast interview, El-Sayed recounted how his parents would “ship me off to Egypt in the summers” so he would know his father’s language and culture, sometimes spending roughly four months with his working-class extended family in the one-bedroom apartment where his father grew up.

He told the hosts those experiences taught him something about “the human condition” that he believes can be harder to encounter in American life.

“I think in American life sometimes we’re not so privy to the lives other people lead,” El-Sayed said, adding that in societies like Egypt, “the humanity of it all, like the carnal nature of it all, hits you.” He called the experience “euphoric” and said exposure to other people’s lives “softens or should soften your heart” to their experiences.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., from left, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speak during the “The People v. The Powerful” campaign event at the Detroit Opera House in Detroit on July 18, 2026.(Nic Antaya/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP]

El-Sayed later pointed to weddings “back home” as a “celebration of humanity,” contrasting people spending hours together with social media, which he described as an attempt to recreate that experience through “some huge corporation that’s monetizing your eyeballs and your eardrums.” He said that type of human connection “can’t” be replaced and called it “the best of living.”

“I think that, like, the essence of our country is that we actually do come together and build things collectively,” El-Sayed said, arguing Americans have been “oscillating between that instinct and the instinct to chase money,” blaming the pursuit of wealth by a small number of people for problems ranging from the American healthcare system to U.S. military spending abroad.

“And, like, at some point I’d rather live in community where people have the basic things they need than be in a country where a few people get to be billionaires and the rest of us get to suffer.”

Alec Schemmel is a Politics Reporter for Fox News Digital who is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina but now resides in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore Metro Area.

德国今夏热浪致1万5800人死亡 创10年来最高纪录

2026年8月27日 19:23 / 联合早报

6月底德国多地气温超过摄氏40度，单在一周内就有约9600人死于与高温相关原因。6月25日，一名男子在德国西部科隆，利用设在街道的喷水管降温。 （法新社）

受持续热浪影响，德国今年夏季估计已有约1万5800人死于高温相关原因，创10年来新高。

法新社报道，德国罗伯特·科赫研究所星期四（8月27日）说，75岁以上人士受影响最严重。

6月底德国多地气温超过摄氏40度，单在一周内就有约9600人死于与高温相关原因；7月底至8月中这期间，另有约4000起与高温相关的死亡案例。

欧洲今年夏季持续遭遇酷热和干旱，除推高高温相关死亡人数，也引发多地野火、农作物严重受损，以及主要河流水位下降。法国、英国和西班牙也相继报告数以千计的夏季超额死亡。

研究所说，它收集了过去10年的高温致死数据，此前最高纪录是2018年的约8900人。

极端高温可直接导致中暑死亡，但多数高温相关死亡发生在高温加剧心血管、肺部或肾脏等原有疾病的情况下。

德国总理默茨本周主持内阁为期两天的会议，气候变化及高温应对措施成为讨论议题，但政府尚未宣布新的措施。

他说，德国16个联邦州在防暑工作方面负有主要责任，且已确定将在未来12年内从一项专门的基础设施和气候保护基金中获得1000亿欧元（约1480亿新元）的拨款。

他星期三（26日）说，政府也会研究是否向受干旱及森林火灾影响的农业和林业部门提供援助。

德国今夏热浪致1万5800人死亡 创10年来最高纪录

2026年8月27日 19:23 / 联合早报

6月底德国多地气温超过摄氏40度，单在一周内就有约9600人死于与高温相关原因。6月25日，一名男子在德国西部科隆，利用设在街道的喷水管降温。 （法新社）

受持续热浪影响，德国今年夏季估计已有约1万5800人死于高温相关原因，创10年来新高。

法新社报道，德国罗伯特·科赫研究所星期四（8月27日）说，75岁以上人士受影响最严重。

6月底德国多地气温超过摄氏40度，单在一周内就有约9600人死于与高温相关原因；7月底至8月中这期间，另有约4000起与高温相关的死亡案例。

欧洲今年夏季持续遭遇酷热和干旱，除推高高温相关死亡人数，也引发多地野火、农作物严重受损，以及主要河流水位下降。法国、英国和西班牙也相继报告数以千计的夏季超额死亡。

研究所说，它收集了过去10年的高温致死数据，此前最高纪录是2018年的约8900人。

极端高温可直接导致中暑死亡，但多数高温相关死亡发生在高温加剧心血管、肺部或肾脏等原有疾病的情况下。

德国总理默茨本周主持内阁为期两天的会议，气候变化及高温应对措施成为讨论议题，但政府尚未宣布新的措施。

他说，德国16个联邦州在防暑工作方面负有主要责任，且已确定将在未来12年内从一项专门的基础设施和气候保护基金中获得1000亿欧元（约1480亿新元）的拨款。

他星期三（26日）说，政府也会研究是否向受干旱及森林火灾影响的农业和林业部门提供援助。

中国外交部：中美就年内元首互动安排保持沟通

2026年8月27日 16:52 / 联合早报

在中国外长王毅敦促妥善管控分歧，为中美两国高层交往排除干扰后，中国外交部星期四（8月27日）说，中美双方就年内元首互动安排保持着沟通。

中国外交部发言人林剑星期四（8月27日）在例行记者会上，针对中美高层互动相关问题的提问，做出上述回应。

中美元首预计下月再次会晤，而美国据报考虑以中国制造业产能过剩为由，对中国商品加征7.5%的关税。

针对上述关税报道，中国商务部星期四批评美国以产能过剩为由，对包括中国在内的16个经济体发起301调查，将经贸问题政治化，是典型的单边主义、保护主义行为，中方对此坚决反对。

中国商务部新闻发言人黄玲在新闻发布会上说：“我们将继续密切关注并全面评估美方后续举措，并保留采取一切必要措施的权利。”

王毅星期三（26日）在北京会见美国驻华大使庞德伟时说，双方正在推动构建中美建设性战略稳定关系。

王毅也说，中美关系仍面临各种风险挑战。双方应聚焦积极议程，妥善管控分歧，为两国高层交往排除干扰、克服障碍，推动中美关系朝着稳定、健康、可持续的方向发展。

庞德伟则在社交平台X（前称推特）写道，本周与王毅、中国副外长马朝旭等官员，就中国国家主席习近平前往华盛顿进行国事回访的准备工作，进行了富有成效的讨论。

Trump’s oil and gas stock trades continued during Iran war, filings show

August 27, 2026 / 6:00 AM EDT / CBS News

Washington— President Trump’s investment accounts have continued to purchase and sell stock holdings in oil and natural gas companies while he oversees the U.S. war with Iran, according to his financial disclosure filings through the second quarter of 2026.

As the Iran war continued, paused for a ceasefire and then restarted, Mr. Trump has purchased and sold oil and gas stocks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the most recently available data from the Office of Government Ethics.

Mr. Trump has a vast portfolio with holdings in all 11 sectors, and a CBS News investigation showed that in the first three months of the year, his accounts executed about 3,600 stock or securities trades, worth a total that ranged between $212 million and $695 million.

Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee estimated this week that the president’s holdings in oil and gas companies have jumped in value from a range of $13 million to $46 million at the start of this year, to $17 million to $61 million by mid-August. Filers are only required to report ranges of transactions, not specific dollar amounts. The estimates were based on his stock holdings in 2025, and didn’t take into account the trades that he’s made since then.

Energy stocks surged during that period, which encompasses the U.S. operation in Venezuela in early January and the war with Iran, which started at the end of February.

The White House said Mr. Trump is not involved in his trades. The energy stock purchases and sales make up a small portion of the president’s overall net worth, which Forbes estimated to be over $6 billion as of Aug. 26.

Mr. Trump has declined to place his assets in a blind trust. Holding individual stocks, as opposed to index or other mutual funds, means he still holds visible assets in his spheres of influence.

One notable large transaction in CBS News’ review of the president’s oil trades was on April 7, the day the president declared a ceasefire in the war with Iran. His investment accounts sold between $500,000 and $1 million of ExxonMobil stock, according to one financial disclosure report Mr. Trump filed in late June. The company’s share price closed at $163.91 on April 7, before Mr. Trump announced the ceasefire that evening, and it opened down 6.5% at $153.52 on April 8.

During the first half of the year, the president also bought and sold hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of shares of Chevron, ConocoPhillips and other oil and gas companies.

OGE requires government officials to report stock purchases and sales in excess of $1,000 within 45 days of a transaction or within 30 days of learning about it, so the office’s records are not always up to date. Mr. Trump was late in filing some of his 2026 transactions.

The White House says independent managers make the decisions about the president’s stock portfolio, and Mr. Trump doesn’t weigh in on the timing of selling or buying stock or securities.

“President Trump’s stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said.

Ingle added that all of the president’s holdings “are maintained in discretionary accounts and invested through computer-based model portfolios that automatically replicate recognized indexes, such as the Schwab 1000.” And Ingle said that no one in Mr. Trump’s family “has any ability to direct, influence, or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold.”

When CBS News reported on the president’s earlier trades in June, some fund managers said they believed the transactions were part of a strategy to lower his tax bill.

David Salem, a portfolio manager at Hedgeye Asset Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said at the time that he thought the trades were “classic tax-loss harvesting activity,” a practice in which investment managers sell some securities at a loss so they can offset gains in other places. That can all be automated, he said.

“The manager and managers, plural, who are doing this for Trump are probably doing it for tens of thousands of other customers,” Salem told CBS News. “You can’t do this kind of direct indexing you see in the filing unless you have pretty sophisticated computers, and legal and tax gurus to figure all this out.”

The war with Iran has led to high profits for publicly traded oil companies, as global oil prices remain elevated. Earlier this month, asked about the profits of ExxonMobil and Chevron, the president said, “They’re making too much money.”

Donald Sherman, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, said the president shouldn’t benefit financially from higher oil prices.

“President Trump’s war of choice in Iran has cost the American people in the form of higher energy and gas prices and higher shipping costs,” Sherman told CBS News. “Meanwhile, Trump’s brokers have been trading oil and gas stocks for him, making Trump significant profits on the global instability he’s inciting. It doesn’t matter whether he’s trading the stocks himself—the president has a duty to avoid conflicts of interest between his finances and what’s best for the American people.”

Presidents, members of Congress and other federal officials are legally allowed to trade individual stocks, though some members of both parties have proposed outlawing the practice.

Mr. Trump, the wealthiest president in modern history, is much more active in the stock market than his recent predecessors were. George W. Bush held his assets in a blind trust during his presidency. Barack Obama stuck to index and mutual funds and Treasury notes, and Joe Biden didn’t own individual stocks.

Republicans worry Trump’s midterms convention will flop

2026-08-27T08:00:29.251Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/27/politics/trump-midterms-convention-flop

President Donald Trump has touted his one-of-a-kind midterm convention as the spectacle his party needs to reenergize voters and alter its political fortunes ahead of the midterms.

But as the two-day extravaganza approaches, Republicans are privately questioning if it strikes the right tone amid the electorate’s tightening budgets — and the wisdom of diverting candidates from their districts just weeks out from Election Day.

Further compounding concerns: expensive entrance fees for lawmakers, competing events like the start of the NFL season and 9/11 commemorations and some state parties struggling to drum up enthusiasm with their members.

And then there’s the overarching fear — that an event once dubbed “Trumpapalooza” will indeed end up being far more about promoting the president than the candidates who are actually on the ballot.

“I’ve heard people say, why are we doing this? What’s going on?” said Reb Wayne, a Texas-based Republican consultant. “It was a good idea at the time, but as we’ve gotten closer to it, I’m not sure it’s going to serve much benefit.”

The rising apprehension comes as Republican candidates search for ways to defy the national headwinds arrayed against the GOP, including entrenched voter anger over the cost of living and frustration with the ongoing war in Iran.

The party that holds the White House traditionally loses seats in the midterms — a dynamic that Republicans acknowledge already puts them at a disadvantage. But without Trump on the ballot and polls showing deep dissatisfaction with the country’s trajectory, GOP leaders worry it will be even more difficult to get the broad MAGA coalition that came out in 2024 to show up again.

“What is always the biggest issue when Trump is not on the ballot? Voters don’t show up,” said one Republican lawmaker in a competitive race. “So what’s [Trump] trying to do? Motivate the base to come out.”

Trump and his political team conceived of the midterm convention last year as a fresh way to engage those GOP voters and convince them to head to the ballot box — a concept that was widely viewed among Republicans then as a smart idea.

But as the broader political mood has worsened in recent months, even those who still see merit in making a big show of party unity have doubts about the convention’s execution.

One Republican operative involved in internal discussions around the convention acknowledged that the political climate has shifted since the decision to hold the convention — but noted that once Trump announced it, they were not going to change course. The operative also argued that there’s still some benefit to be squeezed from the multiday event organized by the Republican National Committee, offering candidates an opportunity to showcase themselves on a national stage and juice their fundraising.

The sheer logistics of the convention have also muted enthusiasm among some lawmakers and party operatives, requiring Republicans to spend two days off the campaign trail to gather in Dallas in what are likely to be sweltering conditions.

“It’s not easy to get to Dallas,” said one person close to the White House. “They should’ve done it in Florida, or in DC.” Dallas was chosen in large part because it could host such a big event, an RNC official said.

Some lawmakers have griped about the entrance fees: $25,000 and up for House members, said people familiar with the matter, though others downplayed it as a standard request meant to boost the party’s fundraising.

“It’s not the members themselves, it’s donor money,” the Republican lawmaker said, chalking up the complaints to broader skepticism about whether the event will ultimately be worth vulnerable members’ time. Puck first reported complaints about the entrance fees.

Adding to their worries, the convention will take place on the same nights as the first two games of the NFL season — pitting its primetime speakers against the most-watched sport in the country.

“I don’t understand the programming still. It seems to just be five hours of speeches,” said one GOP donor, adding that they were mainly approaching the convention as a networking event.

Some Republican officials nevertheless argued that the convention could offer a boost to the few dozen candidates whose races will determine control of Congress — and, at minimum, there was little downside in trying something new to capture voters’ attention.

The RNC slotted the event near the very end of primary season and before early voting begins in most states, in hopes of highlighting Republicans’ accomplishments under Trump while also hammering Democrats just as Americans begin to tune into the midterm contests in earnest.

Republicans are expected to play up efforts to label Democrats as “socialists” and spotlight the party’s furthest-left candidates, officials said, in keeping with Trump’s increasingly belligerent attacks on Democrats as dangers to the nation’s core values.

“It’s going to help rev the base up, that focus on socialism,” said Michigan GOP strategist Jason Roe. “And it may, for those people who don’t really understand why socialism sucks, give them some perspective on it.”

The event is a natural moment to shift into a general election posture, senior GOP aides told CNN, conceding they had thus far failed to do so amid infighting and consternation over Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war.

In addition to giving Republican candidates speaking slots, the RNC is planning to spotlight a variety of voters who will talk about Republican policies that have benefited their lives.

“The upcoming Midterm Convention will showcase the momentum behind President Trump’s agenda and Republicans’ record of delivering real results for the American people,” RNC spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre said in a statement, adding that “while Democrats remain divided and distracted, Republicans are united behind a shared vision.”

Republicans nevertheless acknowledged that the convention will inevitably revolve around Trump, who is slated to headline its second day and be a constant presence throughout the event.

With the White House still consumed by the war in Iran and struggling to ease consumer costs, some in the GOP cringed at the prospect of focusing even more attention on Trump’s presidency and record. The president, they worried, is just as likely to spend his own speech boasting about his White House ballroom and dismissing affordability concerns as he is promoting the most popular elements of the party’s agenda.

But multiple sources involved in the convention discussions waved off reservations about putting Trump in close proximity to the vulnerable Republicans trying to keep their seats, arguing that at this late date in the election cycle, their fates will be intertwined regardless.

“Is the idea that a Republican is going to go to the convention and all the sudden [Democrats] are going to run ads tying them to Trump?” said one of the sources. “Trump is in every single ad already.”

Manu Raju contributed to this report.