DALLAS, Texas – Facing a brutal political environment as the GOP fights to hold control of Congress, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance used their speeches on the concluding night of the first ever Republican midterm convention to paint clear contrasts with Democrats and energize supporters to vote.
With less than two months until the midterm elections — and early voting kicking off in a couple of weeks — Trump showcased his policy wins since returning to the White House and led the crowd at American Airlines Center in Dallas in an oath to vote as he made his second primetime convention appearance in two nights.
“You know what happens if you don’t vote? You go to hell,” the president warned.
Vance, in a strikingly partisan keynote address, charged that the Democratic Party is the “party of hatred.” And with the next race for the White House kicking off once the midterms are over, Vance, the likely heir apparent for the term-limited Trump, was showered with chants of “48” – as in the 48th president – as he delivered his address.
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The speeches by Vance and Trump capped a day that included appearances by some of the other major figures in the GOP, and the party pulled out all the stops to boost morale in the stretch run to the midterms.
Here are the top takeaways from night two of the midterm convention.
Trump’s pledge
Facing an energized Democratic Party heading into the midterms, the main mission of the Republican convention was to motivate the GOP’s MAGA base, which has a history of sitting it out when Trump isn’t on the ballot, to vote this autumn.
Trump reiterated on Thursday evening that his supporters needed to “do me the biggest favor you’ve ever done… You’ve got to do this for me. You’ve got to pretend I’m on the ticket.”
The president then led the crowd in a pledge.
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“I pledge to the greatest president in the history of America,” Trump said as many in the arena repeated his words.
“I am going to go out, and I’m going to get my friends, my family, and we are going to vote on November 3rd, or we are going to vote before that,” Trump continued before warning that if they didn’t cast a ballot, they’d “go to hell.”
Trump’s unusual pitch
The president repeated his offer to Americans that he announced a night earlier, what he on Thursday described as the “Trump dividend.”
On Wednesday, Trump pledged a $5,000 dividend for every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterms.
“We can do that because our country has never done better. We’re taking in trillions, trillions of dollars,” the president argued.
Trump also showcased his second term achievements, claiming that “in 19 months, I’ve delivered on every single promise I made.”
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“This is what he thinks of my grandfather, a man I loved and who loved his family unconditionally. Abdul looks at him, sees the color of his skin, sees his background, and decides that he could never have loved my wife,” Vance said.
The vice president argued that Democrats are no longer “the party of FDR or JFK. Hell, they’re not even the party of Bill Clinton anymore. The Democrats are the party of hatred. They’re the party that despises America and the people who built it.”
Ahead of his speech, the DNC claimed that “JD Vance has been Donald Trump’s most loyal puppet.”
And the DNC predicted that “Vance will continue to gaslight Americans, but voters know the truth: Trump and Vance have tanked the economy, plunged the country into more endless wars, and failed to make life more affordable for everyday Americans.”
Vance’s 2028 moment
While he hasn’t said if he’ll seek the presidency in 2028, Vance is seen as the front-runner in the race to succeed Trump.
The convention gave Vance the opportunity to appear as a presidential candidate in waiting.
While in Dallas, Vance was warmly received Thursday morning by delegates from key battleground states, and he headlined a top-dollar fundraiser for the RNC.
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And during his address, the vice president was interrupted by shouts of “48.”
But Vance, at least publicly, remains laser focused on 2026.
“We’ve got to take care of business this November, then we’ll worry about what comes next,” Vance quickly responded.
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