Is President Trump an electoral asset or a liability for Republicans?published at 01:42 BST

01:42 BST

Sarah Smith
North America editor, reporting from Dallas

This unusual convention was Donald Trump's idea. And he will be the star of the show.

He is delivering the keynote address tonight and the closing speech tomorrow night. He clearly believes that the more voters see of him the more likely they are to vote Republican in November’s midterm elections.

But is President Trump still his party’s greatest electoral asset? Or has he become a liability?

Voters are angry about the high cost of living and deeply frustrated about the war in Iran which is helping to push prices up. And many of them directly blame Donald Trump.

The question is whether they will punish his Republican candidates at the ballot box in November.

Sakshi Venkatraman
US reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Every four years, the US holds a slate of important elections that shape the political future of the country.

These elections don't choose the president. In fact, they fall in the middle of the president's four-year term. That's how they get their name: the midterms.

And they're coming up this November.

Here's what you need to know:

• US voters select who will represent them in Congress - the branch of government responsible for creating the laws that govern the country
• Currently, Trump's Republican party holds the White House and a majority in both chambers of Congress - the Senate and the House of Representative. But that could change after the midterms
• Democrats, the other major US party, want to flip seats so they can have the majority and pass laws that are important to them. They've been campaigning hard all over the country.
• This convention tonight is meant to drum up support for Republicans, as many of them are facing very close challenges with Democrats in US states like Texas, Michigan and North Carolina.
• Midterms often serve as a verdict on how voters think the president is doing, and the party that holds the White House tends to lose seats.

Vice-President JD Vance, who is set to speak at the Republican convention on Thursday night, has arrived in Dallas, Texas.

Image source, Getty Images

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent, reporting from Dallas

Image source, EPA

Inside American Airlines Arena here in Dallas, the so-called Trumpapalooza convention has all the hallmarks of the traditional presidential election-year conventions staged by both parties every four years: thousands of sign-waving supporters, activists and party officials roaming the arena floor, vendors selling political merchandise.

There are even massive clusters of red, white, and blue (and gold) balloons hanging overhead from the arena rafters, ready to rain down on the crowd in the traditional "balloon drop" when the convention ends Thursday night.

But the atmosphere feels different in some important ways. There's no official nomination process, or formal delegates. It's taking place on a compressed two-day schedule, instead of four. And most of the Republican establishment are staying away, wary of embracing a president with near-historic low approval ratings.

It's something of a cross between a mini-convention and an extended CPAC, the annual conservative political forum held outside of Washington, DC.

And perhaps in a sign of the enthusiasm around this event, large swaths of seats in the upper bowl of the arena are empty.

Some supporters of the Republican Party and President Donald Trump have show up in costume for night one of the convention, donning messages of support for the party ahead of the midterm elections.

Attendees expressed their devotion to the Make America Great Again Movement - some with sparkly letters spelling out Trump's name and others with signs that say "keep the majority", a reference to the party's majority in both chambers of the US Congress, which Democrats hope to challenge in November.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

It's a convention full of Republicans - with an appearance from one Democrat.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has appeared by video to endorse the other incumbent senator from the state, Republican Dave McCormick, for office.

"Yes, I'm a Democrat," Fetterman said. "Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I'm a common-sense Democrat. I'm always gonna stand with America. I'm always gonna reject the extremes."

Fetterman has distanced himself from the most left-wing elements of his party, even sometimes siding with his Republican colleagues in Senate votes.

Sarah Smith
North America editor, reporting from Dallas

Jen Lott is a proud Donald Trump supporter who is delighted to be here at the Dallas convention selling her customisable cowboy hats.

But she is acutely aware that not every voter feels the same way about the president as she does.

She told me what she thinks voters are worried about: "Fuel prices are really expensive, even like poultry and meat, all those prices are expensive.

"I think that the farmers and I think even truck drivers want to hear how we're going to get the expenses down so that they can bring more to their table instead of spending it on everyday resources."

Jen agrees that a lot of people will blame those high prices on Trump, and that might hurt Republican candidates in November.

"He needs to say, 'We're gonna get prices down... we are going to make living more affordable by doing the following, we are going to help with mental health by doing in the following, and we're going to make healthcare more accessible.'"

Asked if she has heard a plan from Trump to bring down prices, she did not look convinced. "I've heard lots of stuff," she said. "I will just leave it at that."

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent, reporting from Dallas

Image source, Getty Images

President Donald Trump has spent months arguing that high petrol prices caused by the war with Iran are a temporary problem that'll go away as soon as the conflict is over.

But as he departed for the Republican convention in Dallas, Trump acknowledged Americans will have to wait a while longer to see relief at the petrol pump.

"I think it's going to take a little bit longer than the midterms," Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One for Texas.

Loyal Trump supporters at the convention may be willing to wait.

But that message may not land well with the moderate voters Republicans need to turn out in November. Foreign policy rarely decides US elections, but, among those here at the convention, the Iran war is a major topic of discussion.

It'll be interesting see how Trump addresses the issue in his keynote speech at the convention later tonight.

Image source, Reuters

Just before heading to Texas, Donald Trump said he thought the Iran war would end "immediately after" November's midterm elections, adding that oil prices would not come down until then.

"I think the war's going to end immediately after the election because they [Iran] can't hold out any longer," Trump said.

The president faces falling polling numbers and pressure from within his own Republican Party to end the war with Iran. Since the war began in February, the president has previously given various deadlines - all of which passed have passed as fighting continues - for when the conflict would end.

On Wednesday, oil prices rose to $100 (£74) for the first time since July due to increased fighting in the Middle East.

Watch his comments below:

Donald Trump is on his way to the Republican convention centre in Texas - but his trip was delayed after an emergency inflatable slide on Air Force One was accidentally deployed on the tarmac in Maryland.

Workers were seen inspecting the issue on the new Qatar-gifted Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

Image source, Reuters

Military personnel who were part of the plane's crew accidentally triggered the slide, sources said.

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent, reporting from Dallas

Image source, Reuters

The arena here in Dallas is filling up with diehard Donald Trump supporters decked out in red Maga gear, as the Republican midterm convention prepares to kick off in earnest.

The program will feature numerous Trump allies running for Congress this autumn, and a keynote speech by the president at 21:00 ET (02:00 BST).

But the absence of more moderate Republicans locked in competitive House and Senate races is hard to miss.

It speaks volumes about the current state of the Republican party in a year when Trump is off the ballot but still in total control of the party and its grassroots base.

Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and other incumbent lawmakers are skipping the convention - a clear sign they’re distancing themselves from Trump ahead of the vote in November.

This unusual midterm convention will showcase the Maga base's enduring loyalty to Trump halfway through his second term.

But it will also serve as a reminder of the elements within the party who are ready to move on from the Trump era.