Fetterman introduces McCormick in prerecorded convention video
President Donald Trump headlined the opening night of the first-ever GOP midterm convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Wednesday, pledging a $5,000 dividend to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans retain both chambers of Congress in November.
Trump spoke for nearly two hours after starting at about 8:15 p.m. CDT. Lee Greenwood introduced him by singing “God Bless the USA,” as he had during the 2024 convention.
Trump followed hours of Republican speakers who criticized Democrats, including former President Joe Biden, and praised Trump. Biden left office nearly two years ago. Trump had pushed for the multimillion-dollar, two-night convention, which was dubbed “Trumpapalooza.”
Trump characterized the midterm election as a decision about the nation’s future for hundreds of years. He described the first two years of his second administration as “the greatest” in presidential history after four years of what he called “disaster, bedlam and death” under the Biden administration.
“Your vote will decide whether our country stumbles at the starting gate of the next 250 years or surges forward and never, ever looks back. If we hand America’s future to the radical-left Democrats and our nation will spend the next decade just getting back on its feet, it will be a tragedy. Vote Republican and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come,” Trump said.
Trump told voters to “pretend” that he was on the ballot. He said a Republican loss of Congress would cost voters border security, his tax cuts, their wealth and their safety.
Trump said he would campaign on behalf of Republicans in roughly 35 key House and Senate races and would visit twice or three times if necessary to elect Republicans.
United Press International reported that Trump had increasingly focused on the November midterms after previously warning Republicans that losing the House would lead to impeachment and investigations. UPI also reported that Trump had pushed legislation for months, including the SAVE America Act.
The SAVE America Act would impose proof-of-citizenship and voter-identification requirements. Critics, civil rights advocates and Democrats have denounced the requirements as efforts to disenfranchise voters.
Near the back half of his speech, Trump said he would give every adult U.S. citizen a $5,000 dividend if Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate in November. He compared the payment to a company distributing earnings to shareholders and said the money could be spent only in the United States.
“If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000. It will be called the Trump dividend, we’ll call it the Trump Dividend,” Trump said.
Trump offered no plan for implementing the proposal. Whether dividend checks conditioned on Republican control of Congress would be legal was not immediately clear.
Trump spoke little about ongoing affordability concerns, UPI reported. He said oil prices, which were over $100 a barrel, would fall once the United States wins the war against Iran.
“Oil would be going down as soon as we win the war with Iran,” Trump said. “We’re winning it.”
UPI identified the Senate race between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico as competitive. The wire described Paxton as a scandal-plagued politician who had Trump’s endorsement.
Trump called on Republicans to elect Paxton to the Senate. After joking about Paxton’s attire, Trump credited the Texas Republican with helping secure construction of the border wall.
“We have to elect Ken Paxton, we have to,” Trump said.
UPI reported that Trump appeared to be referring to Paxton’s lawsuits against the Biden administration over congressionally appropriated border-wall funds.
Near the end of his speech, Trump criticized Democrats and their policies concerning gender-affirming care and rights for transgender Americans. UPI reported that Trump mischaracterized those policies. Trump also warned that the United States would lose all it had achieved in the previous two years.
Trump is scheduled to speak Thursday night, the convention’s second night.
Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, introduced fellow Pennsylvania Sen. David McCormick, a Republican, in a brief prerecorded video statement. McCormick is not running for re-election.
Fetterman votes mostly along Democratic lines but has differed from his party on issues including the Iran war and Israel. In the video, he called himself a “common-sense Democrat” while criticizing socialism.
“I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life,” Fetterman said.
UPI described Fetterman’s appearance at the Republican convention as highly unusual and reported that it was expected to anger some members of his party.
Other speakers included House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz and Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia.