Republicans put Trump center stage for convention in US midterms gamble
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
Donald Trump is due to address Republicans tonight at the party’s first ever national convention ahead of the crucial midterm elections, with the GOP hoping to energize voters as it fights to hold its narrow congressional majorities.
The two-day gathering takes place in Dallas, marking a break from the longstanding tradition of holding national conventions only during presidential election years.
“It has never been done before, and will be a truly Historic Event,” Trump said in July while announcing the convention, promising the convention would feature “Great Entertainment”.
Trump first floated the idea for a convention last year, arguing that it would provide an opportunity to showcase his administration’s achievements since he returned to the White House in 2024.
More than 100 House members and candidates are expected, with over 50 speakers or presentations scheduled each night.
Trump delivers this evening’s keynote speech and returns for Thursday’s finale after vice-president JD Vance speaks. Cabinet members, congressional leaders and candidates in closely watched House and Senate races are also on the program.
Republicans plan to highlight tax cuts, immigration enforcement, manufacturing and prescription drug prices, while depicting Democrats as dangerously far to the left.
In other developments:
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Clashing court rulings plunged Missouri’s congressional elections into uncertainty. The US Supreme Court decided not to intervene to reinstate a Donald Trump-backed US House map, upholding a a ruling from the state’s highest state court that prevented the use of the map in the November elections. But shortly after a federal judge temporarily barred the state from using its old congressional maps in November.
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The US military destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after a US navy warship was targeted with ballistic missiles. Iran had targeted the warship twice over two days, the US Central Command said.
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The US will ban Canadian dairy products, motorcycles and most alcoholic beverages. The move marked an escalation in the ongoing trade war between the North American countries, and comes just after Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on $20bn in US goods.
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Congressman Chris Pappas beat back progressive challenger Karishma Manzur in the New Hampshire Democratic primary for US Senate. Former senator John E Sununu, who is backed by Trump, won the state’s Republican Senate primary.
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Lonnie G Bunch III announced he is stepping down as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution after seven years in the role amid Donald Trump’s unprecedented crackdown on the world’s largest museum’s autonomy.
Key events
Rhode Island’s Democratic governor faces steep odds in Wednesday’s primary election
It would be the first time in nearly a decade that an incumbent governor has been ousted in a party primary.
Dan McKee, Rhode Island’s Democratic governor, stands to lose his seat as voters head to the polls today in the state’s primary elections. McKee has been trailing in the polls for weeks against Helena Foulkes, a former CVS executive who he narrowly bested to win the party’s nomination in 2022.
This contest, however, isn’t the kind of progressive vs. establishment showdown that has turned heads in other Democratic primary races this year.
Rather, McKee’s problems stem, in large part, from his handling of repair work on Providence’s Washington Bridge, a major east-west traffic artery. Foulkes has criticized McKee for bungling those repairs, which have dragged on longer than originally planned.
Germany’s Merz cancels White House call after Trump hails far-right win
German chancellor Friedrich Merz cancelled a planned phone call with US president Donald Trump on Wednesday, hours after Trump publicly celebrated a regional election win by Germany’s far-right AfD party.
A spokesman for Merz declined to give a reason for the cancellation, but noted in response to questions from journalists that it was not due to scheduling conflicts.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, hailed the “really big night” for the AfD.
“They finally got tired of the absolutely horrible Immigration rules and regulations which have hurt Germany so badly,” Trump wrote on Tuesday night Washington time.
Merz’s spokesman did not directly respond to Trump’s comments, but noted that the chancellor had frequently objected “in general terms” to “interfering in or commenting on the domestic political situation, particularly regarding elections”.
Victoria Namkung
On the first day of the fall semester at California State University, Northridge, student organizers holding “Hot People Vote” signs wheeled a bright pink wagon outside the student union.
They offered “no strings attached” donuts, heart-shaped sunglasses and voting information for the November general election. Even though it was 105F outside, dozens of people stopped by to chat with the Donuts + Democracy volunteers and register to vote.
One student told organizer Dzian Tran that she didn’t plan to vote because she was disillusioned with politics. Tran chatted with her about how civic engagement is important to democracy and how some elections are won by a margin of only 400 votes. As she thanked Tran, the student held her phone up to a QR code to get more information about voting.
About 50 million young people are eligible to vote in 2026, but nearly half are either not registered or civically engaged, according to US Census Bureau data. After young people shifted right for Donald Trump in 2024, Democratic-aligned groups have been eager to capture gen Z voters who may be disaffected by politics. From bringing politicians, celebrities and donuts to campuses to hosting tailgating events, happy hours and street parties, a crop of youth-led and youth-focused organizations are employing fresh tactics to meet gen Z where they are – and luring them in with fun.
Heather Haggarty, who runs Democracy + Donuts with her daughter, said traditional voter engagement strategies such as postcards, clipboards and phone-banking fail with young voters. When her two gen Z children suggested taking donuts to a university voter registration event a few years ago, she ended up speaking to more than 100 kids in 90 minutes. Haggarty said the deep-fried snack is akin to “breaking bread”, making zoomers more willing to talk and connect.
“Young kids aren’t apathetic,” she said. “They care. But voting isn’t easy and traditional voter engagement can feel transactional and alienating.”
Americans are more skeptical of government information than they were a few years ago, with majorities now saying they have little or no trust in federal government information about elections and politics, foreign affairs or the environment, a new poll has found.
The survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USA Facts shows that while mistrust of government information has grown since 2024, it is higher than it was at the end of president Donald Trump’s first term.
Those suspicions extend to the results of the coming midterm elections. Only 34% of US adults trust government certifications of election results “a great deal” or “quite a bit,” which is down slightly from 40% in 2024.
Certification is a typically routine process in which local and state officials confirm the vote count but it has become politicized since Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.
Trust in government information has also become more partisan since Trump’s first term, the survey found.
Here are some images from the Republican national convention in Dallas, Texas:
Trump gave $45,000 to Natalie Harp and other White House aides as holiday gifts
Donald Trump gave sizable holiday gifts to four White House aides, according to new financial disclosures released by the administration, including $45,000 to executive assistant Natalie Harp.
Communications adviser Margo Martin and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris also received $45,000, while director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta received a $20,000 gift.
The gifts were noted in the staffers’ annual financial disclosure forms that were published by the administration last week. Harp, Martin and Harris make $150,000 annually and Nauta is paid $175,000 a year, according to the White House’s salary disclosure report to Congress.
A White House official told the Associated Press that Trump “has a longstanding practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit, including at times employees and aides, both in government and in his time in the private sector.”
The official did not say if any other staffers were given similar gifts from the president, but added that the cash gifts were not related to the “individuals’ official government duties, and therefore are entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards.”
The disclosures of the gifts were first reported earlier on Tuesday by The Washington Post.
Republicans put Trump center stage for convention in US midterms gamble
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
Donald Trump is due to address Republicans tonight at the party’s first ever national convention ahead of the crucial midterm elections, with the GOP hoping to energize voters as it fights to hold its narrow congressional majorities.
The two-day gathering takes place in Dallas, marking a break from the longstanding tradition of holding national conventions only during presidential election years.
“It has never been done before, and will be a truly Historic Event,” Trump said in July while announcing the convention, promising the convention would feature “Great Entertainment”.
Trump first floated the idea for a convention last year, arguing that it would provide an opportunity to showcase his administration’s achievements since he returned to the White House in 2024.
More than 100 House members and candidates are expected, with over 50 speakers or presentations scheduled each night.
Trump delivers this evening’s keynote speech and returns for Thursday’s finale after vice-president JD Vance speaks. Cabinet members, congressional leaders and candidates in closely watched House and Senate races are also on the program.
Republicans plan to highlight tax cuts, immigration enforcement, manufacturing and prescription drug prices, while depicting Democrats as dangerously far to the left.
In other developments:
-
Clashing court rulings plunged Missouri’s congressional elections into uncertainty. The US Supreme Court decided not to intervene to reinstate a Donald Trump-backed US House map, upholding a a ruling from the state’s highest state court that prevented the use of the map in the November elections. But shortly after a federal judge temporarily barred the state from using its old congressional maps in November.
-
The US military destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after a US navy warship was targeted with ballistic missiles. Iran had targeted the warship twice over two days, the US Central Command said.
-
The US will ban Canadian dairy products, motorcycles and most alcoholic beverages. The move marked an escalation in the ongoing trade war between the North American countries, and comes just after Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on $20bn in US goods.
-
Congressman Chris Pappas beat back progressive challenger Karishma Manzur in the New Hampshire Democratic primary for US Senate. Former senator John E Sununu, who is backed by Trump, won the state’s Republican Senate primary.
-
Lonnie G Bunch III announced he is stepping down as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution after seven years in the role amid Donald Trump’s unprecedented crackdown on the world’s largest museum’s autonomy.
