How do Republicans feel ahead of November?
Rebecca Machi, a Texas Republican who was walking into last week’s unprecedented midterm convention, told The Epoch Times the party does not seem unified.
“They need to be,” she added.
In interviews with The Epoch Times, politicians, activists, and others in the orbit of the GOP gathering, held Sept. 9 through Sept. 10, acknowledged the disagreements and uncertainties in 2026 and the years to come—everything from the Iran war and artificial intelligence (AI) to data centers and Trump’s faltering support among young male voters.
Political theorist Curtis Yarvin, who spoke at a shadow conference nearby, had one of the grimmest prognoses of all.
“The right is playing checkers while the left is playing chess,” he told The Epoch Times at FORUM, a series of intra-right debates in Irving.
FORUM hosted a high-profile debate on AI and data centers between Joe Allen, an anti-AI campaigner aligned with Steve Bannon, and Joe Lonsdale, a venture capitalist and tech evangelist who has exerted significant influence on the second Trump administration.
Ahead of the debate, Allen told The Epoch Times he couldn’t foresee an easy truce or settlement between the two factions.
He predicted the current push for AI, now a driver of U.S. economic growth, “will be seen in retrospect as very unwise, and the hubris will look ridiculous.”
Yet, on the ground in Dallas, AI had its fans.
“I work in manufacturing, but I do a lot of business with data centers, and we like to see the growth,” said Chad Hall, a Texan who was attending the midterm event with his wife, Michelle, and his daughter, high school sophomore Georgia.
When unity is hard to come by, the risks of disunity can be another motivator.
Some at the convention highlighted the rise of candidates linked to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
“You better be motivating people to get out and vote,” said Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) in an interview with The Epoch Times.
She predicted that an ascendant Democratic left would “eat [House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries [(D-N.Y.)] for lunch.”
The event also drew a few Republicans who have occasionally clashed with President Donald Trump.
One was Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who lost his Texas attorney general primary bid to Trump-backed Mayes Middleton. He told The Epoch Times he was there “to just support the team,” including through fundraising for candidates who could replenish the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
—Nathan Worcester
BOOKMARKS
President Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine have agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy targets, blaming the conflict for a recent spike in diesel prices. “This isn’t done by the Middle East; this is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine,” he said on Truth Social.
Trump wants other countries to reimburse the United States for policing the Strait of Hormuz amid the war with Iran. “We are doing it much more for others than we are for ourselves, and we have been for Generations,” he said on social media.
The Trump administration said on Monday it will suspend about 870,000 people suspected of defrauding $39 billion from pandemic-era small business programs from receiving additional federal loans. Check out Tom Gantert’s latest report for more details.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan on Monday to send out energy rebate checks of up to $200 to 8.2 million households. The mailings will begin on Sep. 21, and last through December.
Finland has joined other European nations in a plan to expand France’s nuclear defense program. The two countries said a nuclear steering group would be established in the next few months to discuss the exact nature of the cooperation.
—Stacy Robinson
