Vice President Vance and President Donald Trump urged voters to support Republican majorities during the first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, Texas on Sept. 10, 2026. The high-stakes event featured appeals for unity despite policy disagreements, alongside a contested proposal for a $5,000 cash dividend tied to midterm success.
Vance and Trump Urge Midterm Support Amid Political Headwinds
Closing out the first-ever midterm convention for the Republican Party, Vice President Vance had a request for people who might disagree with the Republican Party on an issue or policy: vote for us anyway. "Don’t give the country over to a bunch of crazy people because you happen to disagree with us on a policy issue here or there," Vance said in his remarks at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. "Recognize the achievements of the last 18 months. We have done a lot; my friends and we can do a lot more if we fight together."
His plea echoes President Trump’s request for Republicans to vote in November as if he were on the ballot. "Please pretend that I’m running," Trump said. "If we don’t have the majorities, so much can be lost." Vance and Trump both spoke Thursday night to close out the event. Vance repeated several of the themes heard from speakers over the last two days, describing Democrats as extreme. The speech was interrupted by a protester carrying what Vance described as a Mexican flag. "If you love Mexico so much, get your a** over there. I’ll buy you the plane ticket," said Vance after the protester was escorted out.
The Trump Dividend Proposal Sparks Debate and Deficit Concerns
The vice president did not mention the $5,000 payments the president proposed on the first day of the convention. But as Trump took to the stage after Vance, he was quick to remind the room of his pledge: to send every American adult citizen a $5,000 cash dividend. But only if his party maintains control of the House and the Senate in November’s midterms.
"If the Republicans win, you win with us," Trump said to applause on Wednesday. "And it will be called the ‘Trump dividend’. Congratulations. Now all we have to do is win."
That’s a big "if." Republicans are facing significant political headwinds. "We might not win," Trump admitted. Quick math puts the bill for this proposed "dividend" at more than $1 trillion. Plus, it’s illegal to pay or be paid to influence voting.
"I kind of think they should take it and put it into the debt," said Meredith Smith, a convention attendee from Austin, Texas. "A lot of people are going to like [the payment]. But it also smacks of the other side." Smith said she has mixed feelings. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida also denounced the president’s promise of $5,000 to each adult American. At a press conference in Miami on Thursday, DeSantis said this amount of money would only cause more debt and inflation.
House Democrats in Dallas Thursday to counter program the convention quickly attacked the announcement. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., called the president a "known liar." "The dividend is not happening," Garcia added. "[Trump] promised a dividend on tariffs. That didn’t happen. He promised a dividend on DOGE. That didn’t happen. He promised some strange, new dividend from Air Force One, what six months ago? That never happened." "There’s no one in the country that thinks somehow this new dividend is actually going to happen," he said.
Messaging Shifts Toward Common Sense and Cultural Friction
Much of the messaging from convention speakers Thursday echoed the idea of the Republican Party being on the side of common sense, and positioning Democrats as too extreme. "Republicans stand for common sense," said House Speaker Mike Johnson. "The Democrat party has been taken over by crazy, far-left radicals."
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was one of a handful of Republicans who used their speech to talk about being former Democrats. He noted the "irony" of a Kennedy at a Republican convention and said his father and uncle would not recognize the Democratic Party today. "The party of Me Too. Remember that we were all supposed to listen to women and believe women?" Kennedy Jr. said. "They cruelly silenced the voices of tens of thousands of mothers who believed that their children had suffered vaccine injuries."
Worth a look
