The first (and hopefully last) Republican Midterm Convention took place in Dallas this week in an attempt to galvanize the base for the upcoming midterm vote, and after two full days of grift, this dark money-funded palooza became an apt symbol of the last ember of the wildfire that was once the cult of Trump.
Oh man, there are a LOT of empty seats at the Republican midterm convention. What an embarrassment for Trump!
— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) September 9, 2026 at 6:08 PM
At the convention, the seats were empty, Ken Paxton’s charisma fell short of nonexistent, John Fetterman made a cameo, Hasan Piker’s thirst traps were magnified on the jumbotron, and to top it off, the president urged the audience to “pretend that I’m on the ballot.” Republicans, who previously relied on Trump-adjacency to win over the electorate, now face an impasse: Trump has never been more unpopular. So how far below the depths of hell are they willing to go to keep their majority? Here’s a brilliant idea: How about selling the struggling American people a bribe?
“If the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000,” Trump said during his hour-and-44-minute speech. “It will be called the Trump Dividend.”
Their manipulation tactics never cease to amaze me. Hence, this week’s Comment of the Week is bestowed upon reader Doona Bae’s Little Hat, who wrote:
I didn’t know Total Lack of Self Respect Con was in Texas this year.
Aaaaaand our own inaugural Comment of the Week runner-up, to reader Constance Bryce, who wrote:
And Grindr going down…
Yep. Grindr was reportedly down in Dallas on Day 1 of the convention. RIP Lindsay Graham, you would have loved the first inaugural Republican Midterm Convention.
Can’t wait until the next midterm election to see what the Total Lack of Self-Respect Convention brings us! Maybe another $5,000 bounced check?
