Live updates: Trump speaks at Republican midterms convention in Dallas

Summary

Donald Trump is speaking at the Republican Party's first midterms convention in Texas, as he seeks to energise the party ahead of November's elections
"I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot," he says, lamenting that incumbent presidents often struggle in midterm elections - what are the midterms?
His comments speak to the challenge Republicans face both this year and in 2028: Trump won't be on the ballot again, our correspondent Daniel Bush writes from the room
Trump also says the US will pay every adult citizen $5,000 (£3,700) if Republicans win both chambers of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections
It's unclear how the payouts would work or if they're legal - and Trump has a record of throwing out unconventional ideas at rallies to grab headlines, Bush writes
Familiar faces from Trump's inner circle, including Vice-President JD Vance, are also expected to deliver speeches across the two-day event in Dallas
But Democrats have called the event a "flashy" distraction from real issues

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Watch: Trump says US adults will get $5,000 if Republicans win midterms

Live Reporting

Edited by Caitlin Wilson and Dulcie Lee in Washington DC, with Daniel Bush and Sarah Smith in Dallas, Texas

Day one: in picturespublished at 04:35 BST
The timing of this convention was unusual, but many moments of day one were familiar.
Image source, EPA
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Stalls selling Maga merchandise set up shop outside the convention centre in Dallas
Image source, Reuters
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Famous faces in attendance included Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and Vice-President JD Vance
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Erika Kirk was in the crowd on the eve of the anniversary of her husband Charlie Kirk's assassination
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Spectators flocked to the auditorium to hear the US president speak
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Trump closed out the evening by urging supporters to "pretend that I'm on the ballot"
Trump clearly loved his speech - but will voters?published at 04:09 BST
Sarah Smith
North America editor
Donald Trump got a very enthusiastic response from attendees at the convention. But I doubt anyone enjoyed this speech as much as he did.
We heard all of his favourite highlights from campaign addresses and political rallies, as he indulged in what he calls the “weave”, when his speeches veer wildly from one topic to another.
As well as running through his achievements in office – from tax cuts to drastically reduced illegal immigration – he talked up his new White House ballroom and claimed Iran was only two or three weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon.
He joked about renaming the state of New Mexico as New America and even changing the Strait of Hormuz to the Strait of Trump.
President Trump may have loved every one of the 100-plus minutes he spent addressing this unusual convention.
It is less clear whether this lengthy address will have succeeded in winning over any wavering voters who may have been watching on TV.

Trump finishes speakingpublished at 03:58 BST
Trump tells the crowd he will appear again on Thursday night, thanks them for their support and once again encourages them to vote for Republicans in the upcoming elections.
He then ends his speech.
Trump remembers Charlie Kirkpublished at 03:58 BST
Trump now speaks about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
"Exactly one year ago tomorrow, a far-left extremist assassinated my great friend in conservative voice, Charlie Kirk, because Charlie Kirk spoke the truth," Trump says.
Tyler Robinson, who is accused of murdering Kirk, has pleaded not guilty.
The crowd in the arena Trump is speaking in gives a standing ovation to Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk's widow.
Image source, Reuters
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Erika Kirk was among those listening to Trump's speech

Unclear where Trump's $5,000 payouts would come from - or if it's legalpublished at 03:23 BST
Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent, reporting from Dallas
As we've just reported, the president has said he will give all adult Americans a $5,000 "dividend" if Republicans retain control of Congress in November. The only caveat, Trump says, is that the dividend must be spent in the US.
"We don't want you going to Canada," Trump says.
It may be the first time a US president offered such a payout to Americans, in the context of an election year plea to get out and vote.
It’s also unclear where the funds would come from, how the US government would track where the money was spent, and whether such a payout would even be legal.
Trump has long been known for throwing out unconventional ideas at rallies to grab headlines.
Trump promises $5,000 to every US adult if Republicans win midtermspublished at 03:19 BST
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Trump says US adults will get $5,000 if Republicans win midterms
Trump says he will pay every adult US citizen $5,000 (£3,700) if Republicans win both chambers of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.
"If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the US Senate, because of our tremendous economic success...I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000," he says, adding it's "much like a successful company" paying dividends to investors.
Trump didn't give any more details and it's unclear how the payout would work. We're asking the White House for more details.

'Don't anybody go to the bathroom' - Trumppublished at 03:13 BST
Trump now makes a joke about the news organisations that are present, saying they will film the empty seat of a man who has gone to the bathroom and say the president couldn't fill the room.
"So please if you don't mind, don't anybody go to the bathroom," Trump says.
It's by no means the first time the president has called out the media for its reporting on crowd sizes.
Image source, Getty Images
US president again mulls renaming the Strait of Hormuzpublished at 03:01 BST
Staying on the topic of the Iran conflict, which has escalated again in recent days, Trump calls Tehran the "bully" of the Middle East.
He also muses again about renaming the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Iran, the Trump Strait. He does not have the authority to do this in Iran.
That's unlike his recent renaming of Lake Ontario as "Lake America" in the US, as he escalates a trade war with Canada.

Trump says oil costs will drop when US wins war - after prices rise to $100 a barrelpublished at 02:54 BST
Trump blames his predecessors for "trillions of dollars in waste and green energy scams", saying "it was them that caused the affordability - to use their word - crisis".
"I'm bringing the prices way down, way, way down," the president says.
He adds that the price of food and "almost every other item are rapidly going down", while the price of oil will also go down when "we win the war with Iran".
Oil prices rose to $100 (£74) a barrel earlier on Wednesday, after the US and Iran attacked tankers in the Gulf region and Yemen's Houthis hit oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
Do Republicans at the convention centre blame Trump for the high oil prices? We spoke to several people earlier:
'It's like we're living in a different country' - Trumppublished at 02:46 BST
The US president hits out at Democrats' policies on issues like immigration, touting his administration's policies as more successful.
The Democrats "gave us the worst and most dangerous border in American history", Trump says, adding that, with his administration, the US has "the strongest and most secure border in our country's history".
"It's like we're living in a different country than two years ago," he says.

Paxton's dress sense criticised during endorsementpublished at 02:45 BST
Trump is now speaking about Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the US Senate in the midterms.
It does not start like a typical endorsement.
"The fact is that some may not like the way he dresses. I don't," Trump said, before adding, "although tonight he looked very spiffy in his blue suit."
Image source, EPA
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Paxton stepped out in a blue suit and red tie in Dallas
"You may not like the way he looks," Trump continues. "But here's the news: in the history of Texas, he is the single greatest attorney general you've ever had, and maybe the top attorney general in the whole United States."
Paxton, a staunch Trump ally who has faced controversy during his tenure as attorney general, is running against Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico.
The seat has gone Republican in recent decades, but Democrats are hoping for an upset.
Trump says he'll visit every swing state ahead of midtermspublished at 02:33 BST
Image source, Getty Images
The US president next moves to talking about states that have seen the most highly contested races - known as swing states.
He says is going to visit every one of these states to campaign for congresspeople and senators.
"We can win every one of those races, but I'm going to go to every one of those states," Trump says, adding there will be rallies.

Midterm loss would mean 'going through hell' again, says Trumppublished at 02:32 BST
Image source, Reuters
A loss for Republicans in November would mean to "lose your border, you're going to lose your tax cuts, you're going to lose your safety and security", Donald Trump says.
"You will be going through hell just like you did just two years ago," he says, adding the US used to be the "laughing stock" of the world, but that no one is laughing anymore.
There isn't anyone who can rally Republicans quite like Trumppublished at 02:31 BST
Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent, reporting from
Going back to his first term in office, Republicans have lost ground when President Donald Trump isn't on the ballot. On Wednesday, he implored the Republican base to reverse the trend.
"I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot," Trump says in his speech at the midterm convention in Dallas.
The remark is an acknowledgment by Trump that he remains the party's best driver of turnout.
It may be true, but it also speaks to the challenge Republicans have both in 2026 and 2028.
Trump won't be on the ballot again, and though he can continue campaigning for the party, there isn't a clear successor who can rally the party base quite like Trump.

'Pretend I'm on the ballot' - Trumppublished at 02:29 BST
Image source, Getty Images
Trump next invokes an oft-cited statistic, that the presidents' party tends to lose seats in Congress in the midterm elections.
"We've got to change that," Trump tells supporters, urging them to "pretend I'm on the ballot" and turn out to vote in November.
US president touts second term as 'the most successful' everpublished at 02:28 BST
Trump touts how well his second presidential term has been going so far, saying: "This has been the most successful two years, financially and every other way in the history of the presidency."
"I want you to remember me in four or five years when this country is rocketing. Remember, I'm the one that got it started," he adds.

Trump says midterms among the most important in US historypublished at 02:25 BST
Trump starts his speech by praising the first ever Republican midterm convention and reminiscing on the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.
He says the upcoming November midterm elections will be some of the most important in US history, calling them a test that could determine the country's next 250 years.
"If we hand America's future to the radical left Democrats...it will be a tragedy," he says. "Vote Republican and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come."
His comments are met with chants of "USA".
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Trump tells supporters their vote will decide if country 'stumbles' or 'moves forward'
Trump takes the stagepublished at 02:12 BST
Image source, Getty Images
President Donald Trump has now taken the stage to deliver his keynote speech.
Stay with us as we bring you the key lines, and you can click watch live to stream it above.

Top Republicans take their seatspublished at 02:10 BST
Image source, Getty Images
As we wait for Trump to speak, we can see Health Secretary RFK Jr, Vice-President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shaking hands and chatting.
Todd Blanche breaks precedent with Republican convention speechpublished at 02:05 BST
Kayla Epstein
US reporter
Image source, Getty Images
US Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke at the Republicans' midterm convention on Wednesday night, putting the nation’s most powerful law enforcement official smack in the middle of an explicitly political event.
He touted the administration’s aggressive work to pursue fraud and deport people in the country illegally.
"To evil men and women it his country know this: President Trump will hold you accountable," he said.
It’s a major departure from precedent. Even though US attorneys general ultimately answer to the president, they typically avoid making their work appear political. That has usually included skipping events like party conventions.