Trump’s midterm convention grift is humming along nicely

The Republican midterm convention set for next week has always felt a bit like a solution in search of a problem—an unnecessary interference with actual campaigning—until you remember that the point is to make President Donald Trump feel special.

No, it’s not actually about getting Republicans elected; that part is being taken care of by gerrymandering and voter suppression.

Perhaps that’s why, rather than learning more about the actual events of the convention, we’re getting reports about how photos with the Big Special Wet Crumbling President are going to be very expensive. But what better way to show your devotion to Dear Leader?

According to the Wall Street Journal, photos with Trump during the convention will cost $88,600, a number that seems weirdly arbitrary until you realize that $44,300 is the current Federal Election Commission contribution limit for donations to national party committees. 

So, presumably, half would go to the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the other half would go to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. 

But that hefty sum is a bargain compared to what you’d pay for the “roundtable” with Trump on the first night of the convention, Sept. 9. That will run you $250,000, as Trump continues to creepily conflate his existence with the 250th birthday of our nation. 

Who wouldn’t want to pay a quarter of a million dollars to hear Trump rant about how schools are forcing our children to be transgender, that he has already won the war in Iran eleventy times, and that the economy is terrific? 

The entire enterprise of shuffling all of this money around is decidedly odd. Presumably, the people queuing up to get a sit-down or picture with Trump are either deep-pocketed donors or GOP candidates. 

But candidates would get much more mileage from a donor giving tens of thousands of dollars directly to one of their own political action committees. There’s no reason to engage in a complicated scheme to pay for access to Trump with money that’s then routed to the national committees with no guarantee that it will come back to any specific candidate. 

But, again, this isn’t about getting Republicans elected; it’s about boosting Trump’s tiny ego. That’s also probably why a roundtable with Vice President JD Vance would only cost you $75,000, and you’d only be out a mere $35,000 for a picture. 

Honestly, we’d pay five figures not to have a picture with Vance, the least charming man alive and the only person currently more poisonous than Trump.

Oh, sorry, I forgot. No one is allowed to say that Trump’s endorsements are anything but “without question, the strongest Endorsement in the History of Politics.” 

Related | Republicans are bailing on Trump’s midterm convention

Accurately noting that having Trump’s backing is a mixed bag at best is cause for being reported to the Federal Communications Commission, apparently. 

To be fair, Trump is still really good at raising money, because everyone who loves bribing officials loves to bribe him—and he’s always open for business. 

Indeed, his super PAC, MAGA Inc., is sitting on about $400 million that it is very busy not spending at all. Trump threw about $827,000 at the South Carolina primary to make sure that Darline Graham gets the Lindsey Graham Hereditary Senate Seat that is her due. And the super PAC spent another $560,000 against Rep. Thomas Massie because he demanded the release of the Epstein Files. 

So while Trump sits on that hefty war chest, GOP candidates are twisting in the wind and having to raise their own dollars—while also being expected to show up at this nonsense convention, where tickets for the privilege start at $25,000. 

At best, this convention will be a big nothingburger; at worst, a disaster. But either way, have fun, Republicans. The rest of us will just be studiously ignoring this whole thing. 

We’ll get straight to the point: The financial hardships that Daily Kos is facing this year are tough.

We continue to be paywall-free. We continue to be supported by our readers, not billionaires or corporations. But we need to bring in more revenue. We are leaning on our community more than ever to help make ends meet.