US President Donald Trump closed the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention in Dallas on Thursday night, urging supporters to treat November’s congressional elections as a vote for him personally.
“You got to get out and vote, and you got to pretend I’m on the ballot,” Trump told the crowd at the gathering, which supporters dubbed “Trump-a-palooza.” He asked attendees to do him “the biggest favour” and pledged an America “greater than ever before.” At one point he led the audience in a pledge of allegiance to him.
The convention was staged as Trump’s approval rating sits at a historic low. He faces mounting criticism over rising consumer prices and the war in Iran. Republican losses in the midterms could turn Trump into a lame-duck president for his final two years in office.
Vice-President J.D. Vance took the closing slot on the second night, delivering a speech widely read as a bid to position himself as Trump’s political heir. Vance echoed the president’s talking points, described Democrats as “lunatics,” and repeated the false claim that Democrats “cheered” the October 7 attack on Israelis.
Vance also clashed with a demonstrator who waved a Mexican flag during his remarks, dismissing the protester from the stage. Protesters gathered outside the venue on the final night as the party sought to rally its base.
The event was unusual in format. Party conventions are typically reserved for presidential nominating years, and Republicans framed the Dallas gathering as a tool to mobilise voters ahead of the fight for control of Congress. Organisers aimed the messaging at swing voters in contested districts.
The convention drew attention beyond the party’s core. Earlier in the week, Democratic Senator John Fetterman appeared to back Republican Dave McCormick, a moment that cut across the sharply partisan tone of the proceedings.
Trump has tied the timing of foreign policy to the elections, telling audiences the Iran conflict would wind down after the November vote. Democrats have countered with an affordability-focused agenda targeting the cost of living.
Both parties now turn to the campaign trail ahead of the November elections, which will decide control of the House and Senate.