GOP midterm convention: Trump directs crowd in a pledge to himself

Trump closes out the night after Vice President JD Vance's keynote address.

Last Updated: September 11, 2026, 1:11 AM EDT

President Donald Trump closed out the Republican midterm convention by making the crowd at American Airlines Center pledge to him to vote on Nov. 3.

"I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States, that loves us so much we can't even breathe, that I will go out with my family, my friends. I'll do it any way, I don't care if I'm registered or not, I'm going to try and cheat like hell like they do," Trump directed the crowd to repeat after him.

Trump followed the keynote address by Vice President JD Vance, whose speech ws rife with culture war rhetoric, lauding constructs like the “nuclear family” and lamenting that Americans were “tired of being called racists” prior to Trump’s return to the White House.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Sep 09, 2026, 9:53 PM EDT

Not quite a packed house

As the president began his speech, there were several rows of empty seats in some pockets in the American Airlines Center.

Pockets of empty seats were visible as President Donald Trump began his address to the Republican midterm convention, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas.
Rachel Scott/ABC News

Trump often brags about crowd size and loves to see a packed arena.

-ABC News’ Rachel Scott

Sep 09, 2026, 9:43 PM EDT

Trump implores crowd to vote like he’s on the ballot

Trump told the crowd at American Airlines Center that Republicans need to vote like he's on the ballot in November.

"This has been the most successful two years, financially and every other way in the history of the presidency," Trump said.

President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican convention, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas.
Alex Brandon/AP

"So I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot. I'm on the ballot. I'm on the ballot. Just one more time, because if we lose, you're going to lose your border. You're going to lose your tax cuts. You're going to lose your safety and security. you're going to lose your wealth. Our country is going through hell. You will be going through hell, just like you did just two years ago," he said.

Sep 09, 2026, 8:36 PM EDT

Donalds blames Democrats for affordability crisis

One of the major themes of the convention is Republicans pushing what they call common-sense policies compared to Democrats and Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate Rep. Byron Donalds discussed the commonality that Texas and Florida share in building policies based on that.

"Florida and Texas have something absolutely essential in common. Our two states prove every single day that Republican policies built on common sense work for the American people," Donalds said.

Rep. Byron Donalds, candidate for Florida governor, gestures as he arrives on stage at the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas, Sept. 9, 2026.
Brian Snyder/Reuters

Turning his attention to Democrats, Donalds said that they created the affordability crisis and that Americans should not trust them to fix it.

"But let me ask all of you here tonight: Do you let the arsonist become the firefighter? Because make no mistake, the Democrats created the inflation that's crippling families, and we, the Republican Party, we have the resumé and the credentials and the plans and the policies to get our country back on track," Donalds said.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

Sep 09, 2026, 8:22 PM EDT

Sen. Tim Scott blasts ‘dangerous, radical, weird’ Democratic candidates

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who leads the Senate GOP campaign arm, gave an animated speech, criticizing a slate of Democratic candidates before concluding that the only way to keep "dangerous, radical, weird" out of the Senate is a "united Republican Party."

"Standing with our President Donald J. Trump," he shouted, raising both hands in the air. "Stand for the President Donald J. Trump. This is a battle for the heart of our nation. I said the heart of our nation."

Sen. Tim Scott speaks at the Republican convention, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas.
Alex Brandon/AP

Scott pulled open his jacket and pounded his chest as he shouted, "The Democrats' extreme candidates won't rip that heart out of our chests. They hate our culture. They hate what it means to be American. Hear me Dallas? Not on our watch. We won't back down. We will not grow weary. Are you with me?"

Scott went on to criticize Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico for believing that God is non-binary, comments that Talarico has walked back, and took a number of stabs at Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, saying that he "panders with terrorists."

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

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