Republicans gather in Texas for Trump-centric midterm convention

In early September 2026, Republicans held their midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, with President Donald Trump as the central figure. The event, dubbed "Trumpapalooza" by some, marked an unprecedented focus on Trump during a midterm election cycle, with the party betting on his appeal as a "showman" to rally voters. However, some Republicans chose to stay away from the convention, and internal debates continued about the party's future direction without Trump.

Trump's approval ratings remained at historic lows leading up to the event, according to polls. In a separate development, Iceland condemned a map displayed by Trump that showed a dozen nations as U.S. territories, though this appeared tangential to the main convention story.