Before a half-full stadium filled with MAGA hats, t-shirts with his face, and members of a Republican Party made in his image and likeness, Donald Trump appeared tonight at the opening day of the Republican convention, an experiment with which the president wants to save the electoral ballot two months before the crucial midterm elections.
Facing the prospect of a debacle announced by polls and precedent, since the party in power usually loses seats in this type of election, Trump has asked his supporters to vote for Republican candidates “as if I were on the ballot.” And he made them an unlikely and crazy promise: if the Republicans win both chambers of Congress in the midterm, Americans will receive $5,000 in dividends.
Trump asks his supporters to vote for Republicans in November “as if I were on the ballot”
From the Dallas Mavericks stadium, in the conservative stronghold of Texas, the Republican repeated his usual talking points for an hour and a half: he warned of a widespread electoral fraud looming, about the danger of “communist” Democrats, about “men in women’s sports,” and he repeatedly recalled the mandate of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
“If we hand over the future of the U.S. to the radical left Democrats, our nation will spend the next decade simply trying to recover, and it will be a tragedy,” said the president in a speech more filled with references to his adversaries than to the achievements of his term. There were also references to the name changes decreed by the president in the “Gulf of America” for Mexico, the “Lake America” for Ontario, or the future “Trump Strait” for Hormuz.
When his speech had already exceeded an hour, the president dared to make a desperate promise, which would be potentially devastating for U.S. finances: “If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the Senate, thanks to our tremendous economic success, I will grant a $5,000 dividend to every adult U.S. citizen.” Without giving much detail about this “Trump dividend,” he later clarified that this money “must be spent in the U.S., not in Canada.”
The promise adds to the one he made last year, when he promised $2,000 checks for every American from the income received from tariffs. That money has never arrived and, in fact, it is the Americans themselves – and not third countries, as Trump proclaims – who have paid the price of these import taxes with widespread price increases.
Also read
The unusual Republican meeting, which tries to replicate the national conventions characteristic of a presidential election, began with a collective prayer led by evangelical pastor Jack Graham, continued with speeches from candidates for the November legislative elections such as Texans Ken Paxton or Monica De La Cruz and members of the Administration, like Scott Bessent or Attorney General Todd Blanche, and concluded with the acclaimed party leader, who will appear again on Thursday.
As happened at the 2024 convention, Trump was introduced by Lee Greenwood, the author of his campaign anthem God bless the USA, who sang on stage. “Many wanted to introduce me, but I told them only Lee could,” said the president, before lying about the number of attendees at the American Airlines Center in Dallas: “This place is full, and there is an equal number of people outside.”
Read more Firefighting efforts continue in the Santa María de la Alameda fire
Republicans focus more on warning about “radical” Democrats than on recalling Trump’s administration policies
Short on achievements to sell – with rising gas prices and an endless war in Iran – the Republicans present on the first day focused their speeches on a frontal attack against the Democrats. “In these midterm elections, we face the most dangerous, radical, and frankly strange Democratic candidates in U.S. history,” summarized South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.
His denunciation targeted the socialist Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic Senate candidate for Michigan, whom he called “dangerous, radical, and strange” and said “hates a part of his own state.” He also attacked seminarian James Talarico, Senate candidate for Texas, who for the first time in four decades could give Democrats that precious seat, as polls give him chances against a Republican, Ken Paxton, surrounded by scandals.
In his speech, Paxton portrayed Talarico through lies and exaggerations as a dangerous politician who “says there are six genders,” “wants to transition your children,” and “says God is non-binary.” He also warned that if Republicans lose Texas in these elections, they will lose “the whole country.”
Democrat John Fetterman becomes the surprise appearance with a video supporting the Republican Senate candidate for Pennsylvania
The Republican target has focused, on one hand, against the crazy, radical, communist, extremist, and anti-American progressive candidates who have recently won their party’s primaries. But, on the other hand, also against the establishment, as a projected image on stage reminded with the faces of former President Joe Biden, former candidate Kamala Harris, his running mate Tim Walz, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
The scene, with several retired or near-retirement politicians, seemed taken from the 2024 political stage, but this convention takes place in 2026, two months before the midterm elections of Trump’s second term, a president with his worst approval ratings in his decade in politics, 33%, according to the latest Ipsos center poll.
The convention featured notable appearances and absences. On one hand, Democratic Senator for Pennsylvania John Fetterman, increasingly aligned with Republicans, surprised by starring in a video, projected during an interlude, in which he expressed his support for Republican David McCormick. He said he spoke as a “common-sense Democrat” by rejecting “the extremes of socialism and the anti-American way of life.” And he assured he will work hand in hand with Trump to “fight for the steel industry” in the state he represents.
On the other hand, several Republicans who will be on the ballots in November and who are in very tight races chose not to attend, rejecting national exposure, the president’s backing, and the possibility of raising more funds thanks to their speeches. Among them, Senators Susan Collins (Maine), Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Ashley Hinson (Iowa), or John Sununu (New Hampshire). According to a poll published by the Politico portal, more than 70 Republican representatives have decided not even to attend as audience, many arguing that an event so focused on Trump could harm their aspirations.
Read more Madrid enables 49 free buses to reach the F1 circuit this weekend
