#fundraiser
2 entries with this tag
Republicans Are Staging an Unprecedented Off-Year "Convention" in Dallas That Nominates No One and Conducts No Party Business — a Trump Rally Its Own Organizers Nicknamed "Trumpalooza" — Where "Delegate" Status Isn't Won but Bought: a $25,000 Minimum for House Members to Attend, Rising to a $250,000 "Golden VIP" Package, While Dallas Taxpayers Are Left to Cover Nearly $2 Million in Security
A political convention is supposed to be a gathering of elected delegates who conduct the party's business — above all, nominating its candidate. The Republican Party is holding one anyway, in a year with no presidential nomination to make: a first-of-its-kind midterm convention on September 9-10, 2026, at Dallas's American Airlines Center, that its own organizers have nicknamed "Trumpalooza." It will conduct no official party business. It is a two-day rally built around Donald Trump ahead of the November elections. And its "delegates" are not chosen by voters — they are sold a credential. The National Republican Campaign Committee is asking House members to pay a minimum of $25,000 (with a guest) to attend, with packages rising to $100,000; a California committee's tiers run from $25,000 up to a $250,000 "golden VIP member" package with floor badges, hotels, transfers, gifts, and concierge service; the Texas GOP sells "honorary delegate" credentials for up to $20,000, cowboy hat included. Organizers raised some $45 million privately to fund it — but Dallas taxpayers are still on the hook for roughly $1.8 to $2 million in police and security costs. Even Republican insiders worry aloud that it has become "more of a fundraiser than a convention," pricing out the grassroots volunteers who actually power campaigns. Stripped of its bunting, this is a machine for converting money into proximity to the president, staged as a democratic institution it no longer resembles.
Trump Claims Iran Offered to Make Him Supreme Leader: "I Said, No Thanks"
At a Republican fundraiser, Trump claimed Iran's leadership offered to make him their next Supreme Leader after the U.S. killed Khamenei. He said he turned them down. Iran has elevated Khamenei's son and denies any negotiations are taking place.