Sunday shows preview: Republicans talk strategy as midterms approach; Iran conflict, Canada trade war leave economy in flux

Republican leaders traveled to Dallas this week for the GOP’s midterm convention , fueling the party’s President Trump-forward midterm strategy, as the party fights to maintain control in both chambers of Congress this November.

The two-day event featured keynote speeches from Trump and Vice President Vance, tributes to the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk and warnings about the rise of democratic socialism.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) emphasized the stakes of this November’s races, calling it “the most important midterm election that has ever been” during his speech at the convention.

The Republican leader will appear on CNN’s “State of the Union” and NBC’s “Meet the Press” this Sunday.

The president sparked controversy during his Wednesday speech , when he unveiled a plan to pay out $5,000 checks to every U.S. adult if the GOP maintained control of both chambers of Congress this fall.

“Here is my promise: If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” he told the Dallas crowd.

The proposal drew immediate backlash , including from members of his own party, as cost of living concerns remain top of mind among voters heading into the November elections. The president has not clarified where this money would come from.

Former Republican Rep. Bob Good (Va.) slammed the proposal as a “socialist vote-buying scheme,” while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) warned it would “lead to more debt and inflation.”

“What I would say is, if you are getting surplus revenue, you should cut people’s tax and return it to the people,” the GOP governor said during a press conference in Miami on Thursday.

The president’s economic approval ratings have continued to take a hit amid the U.S.’s ongoing military operations against Iran, which have spiked global energy rates, and the escalation of his administration’s tariff fight with Canada.

The president responded to Canada’s retaliatory import taxes, which went into effect last week, by proposing new tariffs beginning next year. Trump took another swipe at Canada at the end of August when he signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) slammed this renaming effort as “petty and disappointing.”

“We should be at the negotiating table, finding a path forward that strengthens both the U.S. and Canadian economies,” Scott wrote on social media . “Further escalating tensions does nothing to help American or Canadian families and businesses.”

Scott will appear on “Fox News Sunday” along with Govs. Kevin Stitt (R-Okla), Josh Stein (D-N.C.) and Wes Moore (D-Md.) this weekend.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Iran continued to trade strikes this week as the conflict stretches into its sixth month. On Tuesday, the U.S. military struck five Iranian oil tankers after Tehran’s military attempted an attack on U.S. Navy warships.

The conflict has placed a strain on global energy markets due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil trading corridor, during these military operations.

On Friday, the average price of diesel in the U.S. hit a new high of $6.05 per gallon — a 63 percent cost increase from one year ago, according to AAA .

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett will join “State of the Union” and Fox News’s “Fox News Sunday” this weekend.

Democratic campaigns across the country have sought to build their messaging around the issue of economic uncertainty as the party looks to regain power in both chambers of Congress this November.

A new CNN poll released on Wednesday raised hopes for two Democrats running for U.S. Senate, Maine candidate Troy Jackson and Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Both candidates were shown with slight advantages over their Republican opponents in these tight midterm races.

El-Sayed will join CBS News’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. Additionally, former Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser Lindy Li will join “Fox News Sunday” and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) will join ABC News’s “This Week” this weekend.

On Friday, the country also marked 25 years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. All former U.S. presidents and Vance attended a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York City, while Trump gave a speech at a memorial service at the Pentagon.

During the Manhattan event, a widow of a 9/11 victim called on the Trump administration to recognize Saudi Arabia’s alleged ties to these attacks — an accusation the kingdom has repeatedly denied.

When reached for comment about this request, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales pointed to the trove of documents declassified by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to mark this anniversary.

The 71 filings included partially redacted intelligence briefings about a l Qaeda that former Presidents Bush and Clinton received in the years lead up to these attacks.

While the documents did not provide any new major revelations, they offered a window into the information these commanders-in-chief received about potential threats to the U.S. from this group during their time in the White House.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe called the document release “an act of exceptional transparency.”

See the full list of guests on the Sunday morning news shows below:

NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.)

CBS News’s “Face the Nation”: Michigan U.S. candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D), Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R), Cook Political Report Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Amy Walter

CNN’s “State of the Union”: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R), Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett

Fox News’s “Fox News Sunday”: National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, former DNC fundraiser Lindy Li, Govs. Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.), Phil Scott (R-Vt.), Josh Stein (D-N.C.) and Wes Moore (D-Md.)

NBC News’s “Meet the Press”: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Jacob Coxon

Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures”: Reps. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas), Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), Laurel Lee (R-Fla.)

ABC News’s “This Week”: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Jacob Coxon