“The Art of the Grift” by Donald J Trump

Jul 13, 2026 09:11 PM EDT, Mon

Tickets for the Republicans’ midterm convention as high as $20,000

“It’s not a real convention,” a Republican consultant conceded. “It’s just this grifter free-for-all.”

July 13, 2026, 11:43 AM EDT By Steve Benen

When delegates to the major party nominating conventions gather every four years, they don’t have a whole lot to do. Before the modern primary system, these conventions were often raucous and contentious gatherings where real work was done choosing candidates for national office. But in recent decades, they have been commonly panned as “infomercials” and devoid of important work.

That said, it’d be an exaggeration to say these quadrennial conventions are completely pointless affairs. If nothing else, nominating conventions feature delegates from across the country who, if nothing else, approve a party platform and formally nominate candidates to lead the national ticket.

Republicans’ plans for a for a midterm convention, however, are a very different story.

The Republican National Committee recently announced plans for a national convention, to be held in Dallas on Sept. 9-10, reviving a practice Democrats abandoned decades ago. The move comes with significant risks: One of the underlying points of a national convention is nationalizing an election cycle — and given how very unpopular the incumbent Republican president is, the party should be going out of its way to localize the midterms.

Despite common sense, the RNC appears to be eager to lean into the risk, with party chairman Joe Gruters telling Faux News two weeks ago that the gathering in Dallas will be a “Trumpapalooza,” designed to motivate his followers.

That’s a curious strategy, which Democratic officials might very well approve of, but there’s another element to the story that’s starting to come into focus. Politico reported:

An invitation from the Denton County Republican Party outside of Dallas offers attendees at the GOP’s midterm convention a chance to be “honorary delegates” for a cool $20,000.

And in California, a $250,000 “golden VIP member” ticket to the convention buys four floor badges, four hotel rooms, hotel transfers, gifts – and concierge services for the weekend.

A related HuffPost report noted that the Texas GOP is charging $20,000 for an “honorary delegate” credential, which includes a two-night hotel stay and a “Texas Shirt and Cowboy Hat.”

The Politico report, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, added that the Republican National Committee has encouraged state parties to use the midterm convention as a “fundraiser” for their own candidates.

It’s a plan that opens the door to an obvious line of criticism: This isn’t a major-party convention; it’s a fundraising grift masquerading as a pep rally. No work will be done, and nothing of substance will be accomplished. The party is throwing a two-day soiree for itself and encouraging people to pony up thousands of dollars for the privilege of hanging out with GOP officials and candidates.

HuffPost spoke with a Republican consultant who conceded, “It’s not a real convention. … It’s just this grifter free-for-all.”

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”

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