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Trump and Vance to keynote Republicans’ midterm convention in Texas

As if there was any doubt, will be the Donald Trump show, with the president appearing at both nights of the event in Dallas next month.

Trump and Vice President JD Vance are both set to headline respective nights, with Vance to speak on Wednesday night and Trump on Thursday.

The unusual gathering, aimed at promoting the party’s candidates and the Trump administration’s agenda, is being billed by the Republican National Convention as “a primetime showcase for President Trump’s success, candidates, and causes that have propelled the 2026 midterms to unprecedented focus.”

Throughout the event, Republicans, who are grappling with an unpopular president, , and , are expected to try to paint the opposing party as radically left by highlighting Democratic socialist candidates who have been surging this year.

Candidate showcases will be held each night from 6 to 7 p.m. to introduce candidates running in competitive races.

The first night will include segments focused on tax cuts, healthcare affordability, the border, trade and domestic manufacturing, with appearances by “workers and everyday Americans.”

The second will highlight families benefiting from policies like no taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security, as well as overseas prisoners who have been released, border security, efforts to lower prescription drug costs, and a tribute to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

It will also include a segment marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with the families of first responders.

There was no mention in the advisory of any programming related to foreign policy nor the unpopular war in Iran.

The convention will also try to appeal to the “MAHA” — or Make America Healthy Again — wing of the party, with segments like one entitled, “Chronic Disease & Corporate Capture: Breaking the hold of corporate interests on public health agencies and empowering families to Make America Healthy Again.”

Several will promote — a measure Trump has backed, even as he has faced repeated accusations of .

“Over two action-packed days, we will take Americans through the defining issues of our Party’s agenda and what is at stake in November,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement announcing the plans.

Trump’s new economic squeeze on Iran has a big challenge: China

WASHINGTON (AP) — The “ economic onslaught ” that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has declared on Iran's financial connections around the world may have one major caveat: China. Beijing is Iran's biggest trading partner and its leading oil buyer. While the U.S. is trying to isolate the Islamic Republic from its remaining economic partners, President Donald Trump also is preparing to host Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month to maintain a fragile trade truce. Absent from Bessent's remarks this week were specifics about how the Trump administration would target China, casting doubts on how effective the new campaign would be when the U.S. must balance putting maximum pressure on Iran and avoiding higher tensions with China that could be costly to the American economy. “The announcement yesterday was very careful in my view to avoid specifics (against China), which could have led to a disruption in the summit,” Edgard Kagan, senior adviser and Freeman Chair in China studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Tuesday. “For Xi, a state visit to Washington is a big deal; and for Trump, hosting it is a big deal.”
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