Trump Takes Stage at the GOP Convention in Dallas

DALLAS, Texas—President Donald Trump on Wednesday night cast his second term as “the greatest two years in the history of the presidency,” rallying voters to support Republicans in the upcoming elections at a historic midterm convention in Dallas.

“Your vote will decide whether our country stumbles at the starting gate of the next 250 years or surges forward and never ever looks back,” Trump said as he began his remarks.

“Vote Republican, and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come.”

The two-day convention kicked off on Sept. 9, less than two months before the November election, as part of Trump’s efforts to boost Republicans in tight races and help the party hold on to Congress.

During his remarks, the president highlighted his policies and outlined key GOP accomplishments under his leadership, including stronger border security, lower crime, increased energy production, and tax cuts for workers.

Before heading to Dallas, the president told reporters that Republican members should “just keep fighting and just keep explaining how well we’re doing as a country.”

“We’re doing better now as a country than we’ve ever done before,” he said.

Trump said Iran is “in shambles right now” and predicted that oil prices will come down after the midterms.

“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” he told reporters. “They’re going to be tumbling down, and we’ll get them down. I think for gasoline, we’ll get them below $2 a gallon.”

With the Iran conflict holding gasoline prices high, strained household budgets have kept the economy at the top of voters’ minds ahead of the midterms.

On Sept. 9, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, surged past $100 per barrel.

The national average for a gallon of regular gas was $4.22 on Wednesday, compared to $3.19 a year ago.

Iranian Influence

Trump also said that the Iranian regime is desperately trying to influence the U.S. midterms.

“I think the war will end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump said, referring to the Iranian regime leaders.

He noted that they are hoping Democrats will gain control and “leave them alone,” allowing them to pursue nuclear weapons.

“All they want is a nuclear weapon, and if they had a nuclear weapon, the whole world is in deep trouble,” Trump said.

Election Spending

Before the convention, Trump attended a MAGA Inc. meeting at the Rosewood Mansion at Turtle Creek, a luxury hotel in downtown Dallas.

On Sept. 4, he said his Super PAC would allocate up to $500 million to support Republican House and Senate candidates.

“I think I have close to $1 billion in the Super PAC and I’m allocating probably $4–500 million,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

First GOP Midterm Convention

Despite temperatures reaching 100 degrees, leading Republican policymakers, candidates, social media influencers, and political organizations are attending the convention in Dallas.

Trump is scheduled to speak again tomorrow on the convention’s final night. Vice President JD Vance will also address attendees on Thursday.

Thursday night will also feature a tribute to conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk on the first anniversary of his assassination in September 2025.

Ahead of the speech, the White House shared a list of Trump’s achievements in an email.

“In less than two years, President Donald J. Trump has driven the most consequential stretch of governing in modern American history,” the email read. “He inherited a disaster—and turned it into a historic comeback.”

Both parties traditionally hold large conventions during presidential election years to nominate their candidates. Last year, Trump suggested holding a similar event before the midterms. While Democrats held several midterm conventions in the 1970s and 1980s, the Dallas event marks the GOP’s first midterm convention.

Some members of Congress have decided not to attend the convention, saying the $25,000 admission fee is too expensive.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) made a surprise appearance at the convention on Wednesday night with a video message, endorsing Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and praising Trump for his support for U.S. Steel, a Pittsburgh company.

“Yes, I’m Senator John Fetterman, Pennsylvania. Yes, I’m a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I’m a common-sense Democrat,” Fetterman said in his video message.

“I’m always going to stand with America. I’m always going to reject the extremes in socialism and that anti-American way of life,” Fetterman said.

Nathan Worcester and Joseph Lord contributed to this report.

This is a developing story that will be updated.