Trump vows to be at centre of US midterms: Republican convention takeaways

Trump delivered key note speech at night one of unusual midterm convention, pledging to rally across the country.

US President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican convention in Dallas, Wednesday, September 9, 2026 [Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo]

Dallas, Texas – United States President Donald Trump has delivered a keynote speech on the first night of the Republican midterm convention , putting himself at the centre of the November vote despite not being on the ballot.

The first-of-its-kind event on Wednesday came as Republicans face a challenging midterm election to hold control of the House of Representatives and Senate. Losing either chamber would represent a major check on Trump’s power.

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“When I’m on the ticket, Republicans always do very well,” Trump said to a friendly crowd at the American Airlines Center. “But for some reason, when a president wins… even if he’s a really good or great president, they don’t win the midterms.”

“We’re gonna change that,” he said. “So I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot.”

Vice President JD Vance was initially set to headline the first night of the convention, an event typically only held during presidential election cycles. No reason was given for the last-minute change. The convention was set to continue into a second night on Thursday.

Here were key takeaways:

Trump promises campaign blitz

Trump’s decision to put himself at the centre of the midterm elections by calling for a midterm convention has been seen as a political gambit, particularly as his approval rating has dipped amid the US-Israel war on Iran .

But Trump on Wednesday promised that he would be a major feature in the final stretch of the race, whether Republican candidates like it or not.

He pointed to about 35 of the most competitive races.

“We can win every one of those races,” he said. “But I’m going to every one of those states for congressman and for senators.”

“We are going to have rallies just like this.”

It might not be welcome news for all candidates in tight races, including several who chose to campaign in their own districts rather than attend the Dallas convention.

Some political insiders have warned that too-close an embrace from Trump could backfire, instead mobilising Democrats who have already turned out in droves throughout the primary season.

Trump also went further, pledging a $5,000 “dividend” to all adult citizens if Republicans maintain control of both chambers. It was unclear if the president could legally make good on the claim.

Trump hails war on Iran despite political fallout

The war on Iran, which Trump launched alongside Israel on February 28, has become a major political liability heading into the midterms.

On Wednesday, Brent Crude oil topped more than $100 a barrel for the first time in July as the war ground into its seventh month. Polls have suggested widespread disapproval of the war and its knock-on economic effects.

None of the speakers preceding Trump brought up the conflict, which was only featured in a brief video montage in the official programming.

Trump, however, leaned into his handling of the war, saying the US was “winning” and in control of the Strait of Hormuz, despite Tehran continuing to restrict transit in the arterial waterway.

He restated his desire to rename the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s maritime oil trade travelled before the war, “the Trump strait”.

Trump also floated further escalation, including a potential strike on Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site.

Embattled Republicans make pitch

The midterm convention serves as an opportunity to introduce Republican candidates to major donors, according to J Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

“Texas is the epicentre for a lot of GOP campaign cash,” he said. “It’s really a fundraising hub for Republicans”.

On Wednesday, an array of Republicans in tight races took the stage, including Ken Paxton, the current Texas Attorney General who has trailed in the polls behind Democratic challenger James Talarico.

A Talarico victory would be the first time a Democrat won statewide office in Texas since 1994.

“He is the most radical Democrat in Texas history, but he’s also the most well-funded, and that’s why today, I need your prayers, your votes, and your support,” Paxton said, referring to Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian.

“If we lose Texas, we lose the common sense revolution. If we lose the common sense revolution, we lose America,” he said.

Trump took particular time to focus on Paxton.

“He may not dress right, he may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen,” Trump said, as he hailed Paxton as the “greatest attorney general in America”.

Other candidates featured on Wednesday included Monica de La Cruz, a Republican facing a tight Democratic challenge from musician Bobby Pulido to represent her border district in Texas, Senator Jon Husted, who is running against former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, and Republican Mike Collins, who is hoping to unseat Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in Georgia.

Pro-Israel Democrat John Fetterman also made a surprise video appearance to introduce Republican Senator Dave McCormick. Neither Fetterman nor McCormick is up for re-election in November.

‘Mainstream versus the extreme’

Wednesday’s programme underscored the Republican messaging likely to define the final stretch of the midterm race.

Speakers repeatedly praised Trump’s approach to immigration, which has seen the southern border effectively closed in parallel with a mass deportation drive.

Several speakers also focused on tax cuts and other provisions of Trump’s signature tax bill passed last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill.

But the rhetoric largely coalesced around the leftward shift seen during the Democratic primary season, exemplified in victories of candidates like progressive Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and several Democratic Socialist of America (DSA)-aligned candidates.

Speakers throughout the night framed the election as a referendum on “radicals”, “socialists” and “communists”. No candidates currently running in either party self-identify as communists.

Republican Representative Brandon Gill called the vote “mainstream versus the extreme”.

He specifically referenced DSA-aligned candidates Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez in New York. He said Talarico would “hollow out your most deeply held Christian faith and wear it like a skin suit”.

He also condemned El-Sayed’s support from streaming personality Hasan Piker, who was repeatedly referenced throughout the night for his past comments related to the September 11, 2001, attacks. Piker has maintained that the comments were taken out of context.

“There’s another political movement in our country right now that doesn’t believe that America is or ever was great,” he said. “They sometimes call themselves socialists. Some even call themselves communists. But most of them simply go by Democrats.”

An uphill battle, especially in Texas

The night’s programming resembled a Trump rally more than a party convention, with several of Trump’s most prominent appointees, including Attorney General Todd Blanche and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, taking the stage.

Many of those in attendance said they remained true believers in Trump’s message.

“I feel like he has stood and made us more of a power in the world, when before, I think we were almost laughed at,” said Maria Garcia, a 57-year-old supporter who travelled from Boise, Idaho, to Texas for the convention.

“I hope it motivates people to come out and vote, instead of sitting home and doing nothing,” she said.

But despite effusive praise on display for the president on Wednesday, a troubling reality remained for Republicans, according to analysts.

On Monday, the non-partisan Decision Desk HQ political forecast shifted its prediction for control of the Senate to a “pure toss-up”. Democrats remain widely favoured to take control of the House.

In Texas, that reality is particularly stark, according to Evan Roth Smith, a founding partner at Slingshot Strategies, which polls extensively in Texas.

Polls have consistently shown Talarico outperforming Paxton, despite Trump’s May endorsement of Paxton. That means that any Trump bump for the candidate will likely be limited, he predicted.

“We see Paxton trailing and trailing now outside the margin of error,” he told Al Jazeera.

“We now, in our polling – and in other polls that have come out – see Talarico creeping closer and closer to a 50 percent mark, which would mean he has an advantage that is much more durable.”

在这次不同寻常的中期选举大会第一晚，特朗普发表了主旨演讲，承诺将在全国各地举行集会。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普于2026年9月9日星期三在达拉斯举行的共和党全国代表大会上发表讲话。[托尼·古铁雷斯/美联社照片]

德克萨斯州达拉斯——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在共和党中期选举大会首晚发表了主旨演讲，尽管他本人并未出现在选票上，但他仍然将自己置于11月投票的中心。

周三举行的这场史无前例的活动正值共和党面临严峻的中期选举之际，他们必须力争保住众议院和参议院的控制权。失去任何一个议院的控制权都将对特朗普的权力构成重大制约。

名单1/3：亲以色列民主党人约翰·费特曼在共和党大会上发表视频讲话

美国三个州中的第二个起诉特朗普，指控其削弱濒危物种保护措施

披露信息显示，特朗普曾向助手娜塔莉·哈普赠送4.5万美元的节日现金礼物（共3份清单，此为第3份）。

“只要我参选，共和党人总是表现出色，”特朗普在美航中心对一群友好的支持者说。“但不知为何，当一位总统赢得大选时……即便他是一位非常优秀或伟大的总统，他们也赢不了中期选举。”

“我们要改变这种情况，”他说。“所以我请你们假装我的名字在选票上。”

副总统约翰·迪·万斯原定在大会首晚发表主题演讲，该活动通常只在总统选举周期举行。对于这一临时变动，官方并未给出任何解释。大会原定于周四晚继续进行。

以下是主要结论：

特朗普承诺展开竞选闪电战

特朗普决定召开中期选举大会，将自己置于中期选举的中心，这被视为一项政治策略，尤其是在美以对伊朗发动战争期间，他的支持率有所下降。

但特朗普周三承诺，无论共和党候选人是否愿意，他都将在竞选的最后阶段扮演重要角色。

他指出了其中约 35 场竞争最激烈的比赛。

“我们能赢得每一场选举，”他说。“但我将亲自前往每一个州，竞选国会议员和参议员。”

“我们以后还会举行类似的集会。”

对于选情胶着的候选人来说，这可能不是个好消息，其中包括一些选择在各自选区开展竞选活动而不是参加达拉斯大会的候选人。

一些政治圈内人士警告说，特朗普过于亲近选民可能会适得其反，反而会激励民主党人，而民主党人在整个初选期间已经大量涌现出来投票。

特朗普还进一步承诺，如果共和党继续掌控参众两院，将向所有成年公民发放5000美元的“红利”。目前尚不清楚总统能否合法兑现这一承诺。

尽管政治后果严重，特朗普仍力挺对伊朗开战

特朗普于2月28日与以色列联手发动的对伊朗战争，已成为中期选举前的一个重大政治包袱。

周三，布伦特原油价格在7月份首次突破每桶100美元大关，此时战争已进入第七个月。民调显示，民众普遍对这场战争及其带来的经济影响表示不满。

在特朗普之前发言的所有演讲者都没有提及这场冲突，这场冲突只是在官方节目单上的一段简短视频蒙太奇中有所提及。

然而，特朗普却极力强调他对战争的处理方式，称美国正在“赢得战争”，并控制着霍尔木兹海峡，尽管德黑兰仍在继续限制这条重要水道的通行。

他重申了将这条海峡重新命名为“特朗普海峡”的愿望，战前世界五分之一的海上石油贸易都要经过这条海峡。

特朗普还提出了进一步升级局势的设想，包括可能对伊朗的皮克克斯山核设施发动袭击。

处境艰难的共和党人发出呼吁

南方卫理公会大学政治学教授 J·马修·威尔逊表示，中期选举大会是向主要捐助者介绍共和党候选人的机会。

他说：“德克萨斯州是共和党竞选资金的集中地，它确实是共和党的筹款中心。”

周三，多位选情胶着的共和党候选人登台亮相，其中包括现任德克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿，他在民调中落后于民主党挑战者詹姆斯·塔拉里科。

如果塔拉里科获胜，这将是自 1994 年以来，民主党人首次在德克萨斯州赢得全州范围的选举。

“他是德克萨斯州历史上最激进的民主党人，但他也是资金最雄厚的民主党人，所以今天，我需要你们的祈祷、选票和支持，”帕克斯顿说道，他指的是长老会神学院学生塔拉里科。

“如果我们失去了德克萨斯州，我们就失去了常识革命。如果我们失去了常识革命，我们就失去了美国，”他说。

特朗普特意花时间重点关注帕克斯顿。

“他可能衣着不得体，说话可能不够完美，也可能不是我见过的最帅的男人，”特朗普说道，同时称赞帕克斯顿是“美国最伟大的司法部长”。

周三亮相的其他候选人包括：共和党人莫妮卡·德拉克鲁兹，她正面临着来自民主党音乐家鲍比·普利多的激烈挑战，以代表她在德克萨斯州的边境选区；参议员乔恩·赫斯特德，他正在与前民主党参议员谢罗德·布朗竞选；以及共和党人迈克·柯林斯，他希望在佐治亚州击败民主党参议员乔恩·奥索夫。

亲以色列的民主党人约翰·费特曼也出人意料地通过视频露面，为共和党参议员戴夫·麦考密克做介绍。费特曼和麦考密克都不参加11月的连任选举。

“主流与极端”

周三的节目凸显了共和党的竞选信息，这些信息很可能将决定中期选举最后阶段的走向。

发言者们反复称赞特朗普的移民政策，该政策实际上关闭了南部边境，同时开展了大规模驱逐行动。

一些发言者还重点谈到了特朗普去年通过的标志性税收法案——《一个美好的大法案》中的减税和其他条款。

但这些言论大多围绕着民主党初选期间出现的左倾趋势展开，例如密歇根州的进步派候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德以及几位与美国民主社会主义者（DSA）结盟的候选人的胜利。

当晚的发言者们将此次选举定性为对“激进分子”、“社会主义者”和“共产主义者”的全民公投。目前两党中没有任何候选人自称是共产主义者。

共和党众议员布兰登·吉尔称这次投票是“主流与极端之间的较量”。

他特别提到了纽约的民主社会主义者协会（DSA）候选人达里亚利扎·阿维拉·谢瓦利埃和克莱尔·瓦尔德斯。他说，塔拉里科会“掏空你最深层的基督教信仰，然后把它像皮衣一样穿在身上”。

他还谴责了埃尔-赛义德对网络红人哈桑·皮克尔的支持。当晚，皮克尔因其过去关于2001年9月11日袭击事件的言论而被反复提及。皮克尔坚称，他的言论被断章取义了。

他说：“我们国家现在还有另一种政治运动，他们不认为美国现在伟大，或者曾经伟大。他们有时自称社会主义者，有些人甚至自称共产主义者，但他们中的大多数人只是自称民主党人。”

这是一场艰苦的战斗，尤其是在德克萨斯州。

当晚的活动安排更像是特朗普的竞选集会，而不是党代会，特朗普任命的几位最杰出的官员，包括司法部长托德·布兰奇和财政部长斯科特·贝森特，都登台亮相。

许多到场者表示，他们仍然是特朗普理念的坚定拥护者。

“我觉得他挺身而出，让我们在世界上拥有了更大的力量，而以前，我觉得我们几乎被人嘲笑，”57 岁的支持者玛丽亚·加西亚说道，她从爱达荷州博伊西来到德克萨斯州参加大会。

“我希望这能激励人们出来投票，而不是待在家里无所事事，”她说。

但分析人士指出，尽管周三总统受到了热烈赞扬，但共和党人仍然面临着一个令人不安的现实。

周一，无党派政治预测机构Decision Desk HQ将参议院控制权的预测改为“势均力敌”。民主党仍然普遍被看好能够控制众议院。

据在德克萨斯州进行广泛民意调查的 Slingshot Strategies 的创始合伙人 Evan Roth Smith 称，在德克萨斯州，这种现实尤其严峻。

民调一直显示，尽管特朗普在五月份公开支持帕克斯顿，塔拉里科的支持率仍然高于帕克斯顿。他预测，这意味着特朗普可能给这位候选人带来的支持率提升有限。

“我们看到帕克斯顿的得分越来越低，现在已经超出了误差范围，”他告诉半岛电视台。

“我们现在的民调——以及其他已经公布的民调——都显示塔拉里科的支持率越来越接近 50%，这意味着他的优势将更加持久。”