Nevertheless, his party is putting him at the center of a major convention two months before the election.
asserted
party → put → election
On Wednesday and Thursday, Republicans are gathering at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, which can hold around 20,000 spectators, for the "Republican Midterm Convention."
asserted
which → gather → Convention
In the United States, this sort of large party conventions are normally only held before presidential elections.
asserted
sort → hold → elections
Democrats experimented with similar gatherings in the 1970s and early 1980s, but for Republicans, the format is a first.
asserted
format → experiment → Republicans
In Texas, they want to mobilize Trump supporters for Republican candidates.
asserted
they → want → candidates
Republicans are heading into the campaign with an unpopular president.
asserted
Republicans → head → president
According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, Donald Trump had an approval rating of just 33%.
uncertain
Trump → accord → %
On top of that, Democrats are currently much more energized.
asserted
Democrats → energize → that
Nearly half of their supporters say they are especially enthusiastic about the midterm elections, compared with just 31% of Republicans.
asserted
they → say → Republicans
Even so, the convention is entirely centered around Trump.
asserted
convention → center → Trump
The president will appear on both nights, putting him even more prominently in the spotlight than the Republican candidates who will actually be on the ballot for the Senate and House of Representatives in November.
asserted
who → appear → November
But for some of those candidates in particular, being seen as close with Trump poses a risk.
asserted
seen → see → risk
A survey of more than 70 Republican candidates and lawmakers by Politico found considerable reluctance toward the convention.
asserted
survey → find → convention
Numerous candidates in competitive districts appear to shy away from being too closely associated with the president.
asserted
candidates → appear → president
The fact that some candidates are even avoiding their own party's convention altogether highlights the Trump dilemma.
asserted
candidates → avoid → dilemma
On the one hand, he could mobilize the MAGA base.
uncertain
he → mobilize → base
On the other, his presence could also alienate moderate voters and even boost the opposition.
uncertain
presence → alienate → opposition
Despite the president's weak poll numbers, the convention's choreography initially focuses on a positive record of his time in office so far.
asserted
choreography → focus → office
Topics such as the economy, border security, trade and public safety are intended to show what Trump has already accomplished from the Republicans' perspective.
asserted
Trump → intend → perspective
With segments such as "Two Visions for America" and "The Opposition Contrast," the convention is designed as an attack on the Democrats.
asserted
convention → design → Democrats
Republicans portray them as a party dominated by the political left and a Democratic congressional majority as a threat to Trump's policies so far.
asserted
Republicans → portray → policies
In fact, it could block his agenda over the next two years and give Congress significantly more power to oversee and investigate the administration.
uncertain
it → block → administration
Does Trump have an answer to high living costs?
asserted
Trump → have → costs
The convention program focuses on what Trump has already done: his tax cuts, lower drug prices and efforts to promote domestic production.
asserted
Trump → focus → production
Whether he can offer anything substantially new in Dallas remains unclear.
uncertain
offer → offer → Dallas
Political scientist Sascha Lohmann of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) considers that unlikely.
asserted
that → consider → Affairs
In such campaign settings, Trump's speeches are usually poorly structured and rarely outline specific policy measures, he says.
asserted
he → structure → measures
"What we see there is almost a kind of 'stream of consciousness,'" Lohmann continues.
asserted
Lohmann → see → consciousness
Trump tends to reveal over an extended period "whatever may happen to be going through his mind at the time.
uncertain
whatever → tend → time
The problem for Trump is that his telling of an economic success story does not match the perceptions of many Americans.
asserted
telling → match → Americans
In a recent FT/Focaldata poll, nearly two-thirds say the US economy is heading in the wrong direction.
asserted
economy → say → direction
A total of 57% even say their personal financial situation has worsened since Trump took office again.
asserted
Trump → say → office
What will Trump say about the Iran war?
asserted
Trump → say → war
Perhaps the most striking element of the planned program is that the Iran war hardly figures in it.
asserted
war → plan → it
The convention organizers seem keen to keep the politically thorny issue out of the limelight as much as possible.
asserted
organizers → seem → limelight
Trump himself, however, has so far taken a different approach and continues to portray the war as a success.
asserted
Trump → take → success
Lohmann expects him to maintain that line in Dallas as well.
asserted
him → expect → Dallas
He says that Trump's argument is "that Iran has been weakened to a greater extent than any president before him has ever managed, that its nuclear program has been wiped out and that the Iranians are now virtually begging for an end to the conflict."
asserted
Iranians → say → conflict
Will Dallas set the stage for Trump's succession?
asserted
Dallas → set → succession
Officially, Dallas is about the midterms, but straight after the midterm elections, talk will move on to the next presidential election.
asserted
talk → move → election
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
