GOP Convention-Goers Urge Party to Highlight Economic Gains Under Trump

DALLAS—Supporters at the first Republican midterm convention said that to triumph in November, the party should emphasize its economic wins while challenging what they called the democratic socialist pitch of “free things.”

Since President Donald Trump took office in 2025, the stock market has jumped by 33 percent, and the administration says job numbers are up as many Americans are receiving some of the largest tax refunds in history.

In August 2026, 162,000 jobs were added, significantly beating expectations of about 53,000, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

​Trump highlighted both points when addressing the crowd on opening night, saying, “The typical American’s 401(k) has gone up by almost $50,000, and unemployment claims have reached the lowest level ever recorded.”

The president also promised a $5,000 dividend from tariffs to every adult citizen if Republicans keep control of the Senate and House this November, prompting some criticism.

“Will post-conservative Republicans also try to defend Trump’s $5K ‘dividend’ socialist vote-buying scheme that would cost nearly $1 trillion?” asked former Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) on X.

Overall, inflation has eased to about 3.4 percent, down from a record 9 percent under the Biden administration. However, the sharp rise in prices largely stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gas prices have eased since President Joe Biden was in office, but they have recently ticked up because of the war with Iran. On Sept. 9, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas was $4.22, about a dollar higher than $3.19 a year ago.​

Convention attendee Rodney Stokes of Fort Worth, Texas, told The Epoch Times that he finds it interesting that affordability appears to be the buzzword heading into the midterms.

“It’s funny with the economy because, like, you know, under Biden it really wasn’t even talked about at all, and then Trump gets [in], and all of a sudden everyone’s talking about affordability,” he said.

While people may be complaining about gas prices at about $4 per gallon nationwide, he said, he remembers when they peaked at more than $5 per gallon under Biden.

“I know that Iran with the oil, that’s a big problem,” Stokes said.

But he also said that he gives Trump credit for doing something about Iran’s goal of building a nuclear weapon.

Likewise, tariffs and securing the border stand to bring long-term prosperity, but he acknowledged that Americans aren’t particularly patient.

​“These are things that are making a real difference, maybe not in the short term, but not too long of a term,” he said.

​Sisters Beth Mills of Shawnee, Oklahoma, and Colleen Robishaw of Arlington, Texas, told The Epoch Times that Republicans need to focus their messaging to win in November. Costs are going down, and Trump is bringing manufacturing and investment back to America, which they said will strengthen the economy for years to come.

​Yet surveys show that Americans aren’t feeling good about the economy.

​A recent CNBC generational lab poll showed that 46 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds view democratic socialism favorably or very favorably. The Democratic Socialists of America platform promises free healthcare for all, rent control, and free college by taxing the rich or capping how much wealthy people can make.

​The sisters said Republicans should tell people that nothing is free: Higher taxes would be needed to pay for free programs, and the government would exert more control over people’s lives.

“I think you need to look at the cost, the overall cost of what free things are. It was never free,” Mills said.

They said they also think that Republicans need to use social media to get facts about Republican economic wins to younger voters.

Joe “Coach” Marino, who lives east of Dallas, said the GOP needs to drive home the message that “free money” pushed by democratic socialist candidates will mean higher taxes on everyone, including the working class.

“I think the message that they’ve got to get across is that people have to be hard-working American citizens and work for what they need to keep out people who just want to live free,” he said.

​Convention speakers also emphasized an “everyday Americans” theme the GOP used during its 2024 convention, with several discussing pocketbook issues.

One speaker was an 82-year-old Florida woman. She told the Dallas audience on Sept. 9 that Trump asked her to speak about how his policies affected her finances.

Mary Alice Hazen lauded TrumpRx, the president’s program that reduces prescription drug costs.

She said her husband’s prescriptions “used to cost … a fortune.” Using TrumpRx has eased that burden, sometimes dramatically, Hazen said. For one medication, the couple used to pay $400; now they pay $28, she said.

“At my age, I have to watch every penny. TrumpRx has made that much easier on me,” she said.

Trump’s tax policy also has benefited her and her husband, Hazen said.

As a result of the president’s tax cut law, the Hazens received a refund “twice the size” of what they expected, she said. The couple used that money to partly pay for a roof replacement on their home, preserving more of their savings account, she said.

Hazen said she also appreciates Trump’s “no tax on Social Security,” which helps millions of Americans keep their “hard-earned money” in their own pockets.

Baltimore native Nora Pruitt, a married mother of seven, said, “Things really improved for our family since President Trump returned to office last year.”

A former housekeeper, Pruitt landed a job at a welding factory making “custom products using steel produced right here in the United States,” she said.

“Thanks to the working family tax cuts and the tariffs that are protecting American jobs, the company I work for made the biggest investment in the company’s history and signed off on a new machine that has helped me in my job,” she said. The company also was able to give her a raise and a promotion.

Further, she said, her husband isn’t paying tax on overtime because of Trump’s new policy.

The changes enabled the family to buy a house on an acre of land in rural Maryland.

“Even though every single Democrat voted against these tax cuts for working families, we are so grateful that President Trump and Republicans in Congress … fought for our families—like ours,” she said.

“Thank you for making it easier for working moms like me to help provide for our families. Thank you for making our neighborhoods safe for our children, and thank you for fighting for working families across America.

“My husband and I feel so blessed to live in a country where hard work pays off, and parents like us can raise our children to become the men and women God intended us to be.”

Pruitt said she and her husband pledge to vote for Republicans in the Nov. 3 election so Trump “can keep fighting” for their family.

Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio)—who is campaigning against former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and other challengers—said Ohioans on the campaign trail have repeatedly shared how Trump’s economic policies have helped them.

“I’ve talked with delivery drivers and waitresses in places like Cleveland that are using the extra money that they get from ‘no tax on tips’ to pay off cars and student loans,” Husted said on Sept. 9.

In Findlay, Ohio, a factory worker said “no tax on overtime” is funding a down payment on his first home. And in Dayton, Ohio, senior citizens told him that “‘no tax on Social Security’ is helping them stay in their homes as they age and to live there with dignity,” Husted said.

He noted that Democrats opposed those measures—thus, in his view, “this election this fall comes down to some clear questions from working families.”

“Do you want to keep more of what you earn, or do you want to see more of your hard-earned money go to Washington for failures and fraud?” he said.

Husted pledged to be among the Republicans who are committed to fighting for wage earners.​