Trump wants to make this midterm year 'special' to avoid losing Republican control of Congress

DALLAS (AP) — Republicans at their midterm convention know that history is not on their side this election season , but they are counting on President Donald Trump and his two-day extravaganza in Dallas to rally voters to protect their House and Senate majorities.

They spent the first night denouncing Democrats as extremists before Trump capped Wednesday with a speech saying the choice this election is “very, very simple” and making the outlandish promise of $5,000 to each American adult, if his party wins. Such a proposal could cost more than $1 trillion at a time when the nation faces a record $40 trillion debt.

Thursday's lineup is expected to feature many of the same themes and includes a keynote from Vice President JD Vance and closing remarks from Trump.

Republicans are trying to overcome voters' concerns about the economy and the war in Iran , and many still see solidarity with Trump as their best shot at winning in November despite the president's low approval ratings.

“The midterms are not supposed to be won by the sitting president,” Trump acknowledged during a lengthy primetime speech.

But he predicted this one will be “something very special,” and encouraged voters to cast their ballots as if they were voting for him.

“Pretend I’m on the ballot,” he said.

A roster of Republican lawmakers, some of them the most electorally endangered in the country, took their turns Wednesday echoing warnings that tax cuts and immigration enforcement are all at risk if Democrats win. Many others skipped the confab altogether, and the party is competing for attention with another American institution, the National Football League, which started its season this week.

Democrats, holding their own events around the city, portrayed the Republicans as out of touch with voters' concerns about high prices and the ethics of the Trump administration.

“We want to ensure that people can actually live their lives, be able to work, have access to healthcare,” said Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, “and the president’s more interested in sending bizarre, deranged social media posts and having his party in Dallas.”

The second night of the convention is expected to delve deeply into what House Speaker Mike Johnson calls the “Contrast with America," as Republicans showcase what they call their “Big Beautiful Bill” of tax breaks and spending cuts, and warn of a future if Democrats take control.

The campaign slogan is a throwback to an earlier era, when another Republican leader, Newt Gingrich, offered a Contract with America. This time, rather than presenting a detailed list of priorities, Republicans are drawing a contrast with the Democrats, who they contend are too far left and would focus on investigating the Trump administration.

“This is what we're talking about when we say common sense versus crazy communists,” said Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., warning of impeachments ahead if Republicans stay home.

“Are you going to let that happen?” he asked.

Many in the crowd, filled with MAGA gear and cowboy hats, roared back, “No!”

Trump did mention a proposal to cut credit card swipe fees at the end of his speech, which neared the two-hour mark, but he offered few other details.

Republicans have been quick to portray all Democrats as in line with their most liberal candidates, particularly a new generation, some backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Still, one Democrat, outlier Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania , joined by video address, saying he would always reject extremes.

Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the House GOP Whip, roused the crowd by angrily name-checking incumbent Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from Minneapolis and Senate Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, along with New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani, three of the nation’s most prominent Muslim politicians.

“If you're not happy here, then get the hell out,” he said.

With the Republican majorities in the House and Senate both at risk this fall, the president’s agenda for his final two years in office is also at stake. The margins in Congress are expected to be narrow, with a few seats in a shrunken map of competitive races determining the outcome.

Presidents past have acknowledged their midterm losses — Barack Obama called his 2010 setbacks a “shellacking,” George W. Bush labeled his a “thumping.”

But Trump often refuses to accept defeat, including his false claims that he, rather than Joe Biden, won the 2020 election. One of the many people he pardoned for their actions in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, former Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, appeared at the convention.

Trump on Wednesday said that in this election, “all that matters is that we are united."

He predicted that “the great American majority is going to stand up and continue to Make America Great Again. And we will make our voices heard, perhaps like never before.”

Mascaro reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Thomas Beaumont and Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Will Weissert, Steven Sloan, and Aamer Madhani in Washington, JJ Cooper in Phoenix, Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.