President Donald Trump’s unprecedented midterm convention is shaping up to be such a disaster that veteran Democratic political strategist James Carville is “thanking god” for the event.
Trump plans to speak both nights at next week’s two-day televised party convention in Dallas, where Republicans hope to energize MAGA voters even though the president’s name won’t be on the ballot in November.
Dozens of GOP lawmakers, however, have confirmed they intend to skip the event, giving an array of excuses as they try to distance themselves from an increasingly unpopular president facing a voter backlash over the Iran war and his handling of the economy.
During the latest episode of his Politics War Room podcast, Carville said he considered the convention a gift to Democrats.
“The mind can’t quite get around what exactly they’re up to, but thank God they’re doing it,” he said. “We didn’t need this to win, but it certainly helps.”
With the president’s approval rating hovering around a record-low 36 percent, even some Republicans have questioned the wisdom of making Trump the focus of the midterms.
In a scathing op-ed for the Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal, veteran strategist Karl Rove blasted the president’s midterm strategy of ignoring his own unpopularity, holding daily rallies, and bombarding the airwaves in battleground states with ads touting the administration’s supposed accomplishments.
“If your approval rating is low, making the election even more about you only helps the opposition,” wrote Rove, who masterminded George W. Bush’s gubernatorial and presidential election wins.
Republican candidates in difficult races have been begging Trump to dip into his $400 million-plus war chest accumulated by his super PAC, MAGA Inc., and help finance their campaigns.
Instead, he’s charging most members of Congress $25,000 to $100,000 to attend a convention that even first lady Melania Trump plans to skip.
“Is Trump trying to lose?” Caville asked. “Most politicians kind of want to win. Does he really want to win? Does he care? I don’t know, but I mean it’s a question that’s got to be asked… Every piece of evidence you see, he’s actually trying to lose.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
