Welcome to Washington Secrets, where we will be in Dallas for the rest of the week. If a friend sent you this and you’d like to sign up, CLICK HERE. Today we have an exclusive preview of messaging around the first day of the Republican midterm convention, plus a scoop on the new name of the bar at the British embassy, with a cheeky nod to the semiquincentennial.
EXCLUSIVE — Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who heads the Republican Senate campaign arm, will contrast two years of Trump policy wins with the “dangerous” ideas of “weird Democrats” at his party’s first-ever midterm convention on Wednesday.
The GOP gathers in Dallas for an event designed to draw a stark comparison between competing visions of the nation.
Secrets has been given a sneak peek of the speech to be delivered by Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who will be leading by example.
“This midterm, we face the most dangerous … radical … and frankly weird Democrat candidates in history,” he will say.
With Donald Trump enduring rock bottom approval ratings, strategists want to shift the terms of the midterm elections toward what they call a “contrast election,” comparing Democrats and Republicans, rather than a straight referendum on the president, the war in Iran, gas prices, and the economy.
Trump will deliver the keynote address on Wednesday. Scott is due to speak in the afternoon.
“Then you have Jon Ossoff in Georgia. He wants to let boys play in girls’ sports,” Scott will say, highlighting how the senator has voted against Republican legislation that would prevent federal funding for school athletics programs that are not based on biological sex.
His speech runs through some of the states where Republicans face tough battles.
“Sherrod Brown in Ohio? He enabled Biden’s open-border crisis,” Scott will say. “We’re not going back to the days of Joe Biden and Sherrod Brown!”
“Speaking of dangerous, Roy Cooper in North Carolina: He let over 3,000 criminals roam the streets. The result? More than 20 committed murder after release. Roy Cooper has blood on his hands.
“Then there’s the radicals. … Troy Jackson of Maine, who said he ‘would’ve run as a communist.’ A communist! Come on.”
It’s a set of policy buzzwords that Republicans believe will connect with voters beyond the base: the border, biological boys in girls’ sports, crime, and communists.
Scott is in a particularly precarious position. Republicans are expected to struggle at a time when they hold the House, the Senate, and the White House.
They might not say it in public, but many are privately already braced for losing the House. Losing the Senate, which is Scott’s responsibility, would suggest things are even worse than they thought.
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So, before listing the weirdness of Democrats, Scott will remind his audience of what Trump has achieved since taking power.
“Thank God Almighty Texas is Trump country,” he will say. “And in Trump country, we celebrate the most transformational two years of any presidency in our lifetime.
“Trump secured our border. His agenda has produced more opportunities.
“The largest tax cut in American history: No tax on tips, overtime, and Social Security. But we’re not done.”
Some 20,000 people are expected in Dallas.
The convention has been micromanaged by Trump and his team, selecting speakers, setting the running order, and vetting speeches.
But pollsters wonder at the merit in putting Trump at the center of an event that is meant to shift focus away from him to the Democrats. At the same time, the convention program will go head-to-head with the NFL season opener on Wednesday evening.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said: “This week in Dallas, we will highlight our all-star candidates and our extraordinary record, and we will use this midterm convention to contrast Republicans’ common-sense policies versus the Democrats’ truly crazy agenda.”
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What we’ll be looking for
Secrets will be all over the midterm convention. These are some of the things we will be looking out for:
Who turns up? More than 100 House Republicans and candidates are expected to be there. But with buy-ins recommended at $25,000 and with Trump a toxic partner in some districts, look out for who doesn’t attend.
Who rips off their shirt? Hulk Hogan provided one of the viral moments of the 2024 convention. No one can match his shirt-ripping antics, although Kash Patel might try, but who will provide the biggest social media moment?
Who is gunning for 2028? Secrets will be looking to see who has a good convention and gets the base riled up besides JD Vance.
Trump’s entry: Two years ago, the Republican candidate had just survived an assassination attempt. His return to the political stage invoked messiah comparisons. How can he match that?
Contrast or referendum: Strategists say the key to the convention is to contrast Democratic excesses with Republican sense — see Scott’s speech above. But can Trump resist making it all a referendum on himself?
LIVE UPDATES: REPUBLICANS GATHER IN DALLAS FOR FIRST-EVER GOP MIDTERM CONVENTION
Good news for warm beer enthusiasts
The pub at the British Embassy in Washington has been renovated and will open soon with a new name. It was once fondly known as The Shed, famous for its cozy confines, and, before that, went through various different incarnations as The Union Tap and Bar 3100, after the embassy’s address on Massachusetts Avenue.
Now it returns as The Two Georges, according to a Secrets source. In a typically British way, the embassy is marking the semiquincentennial with a raised eyebrow, with not just a nod to George Washington but to King George III as well!
“It’ll be a traditional British pub, welcoming Americans and folk from D.C. to experience U.K. pub culture,” our source said.
Just don’t expect to turn up unannounced during a Friday bar crawl. It is one of the most exclusive of hostelries, and you’ll need an invitation from an embassy staffer to get in!
Lunchtime reading
Newsom’s hard truth for Democrats – ‘It’s our performance’: Why have Democrats struggled in elections since 2020? The California governor, in this exclusive interview, has a blunt explanation: They simply haven’t been good enough.
Trump’s super PAC is tied to mystery group spending $25 million on midterms: Why is MAGA Inc. channeling a chunk of its spending through No Going Back PAC Inc., which was incorporated just a week ago, on Sept. 1?