Sakshi Venkatraman
US reporter

President Donald Trump spoke for nearly two hours on the first night of the newly minted Republican midterm convention, a first of its kind event held at a massive arena in Dallas, Texas.

He told the audience of supporters that upcoming elections, which will decide which party controls Congress, are pivotal for deciding the future of the country.

Here are the highlights:

• Trump told Republican voters to "pretend I'm on the ballot" in the upcoming midterm elections, when members in both chambers of US Congress are up for reelection. "When I'm on the ticket, Republicans always do very well," he said
• He added that if Republicans win both the Senate and House of Representatives this autumn, he will pay every adult US citizen $5,000 (£3,700). It's unclear how that would work, or if it's even legal
• Like in many of his speeches, the president hit out at previous Democratic administrations and praised the achievements of his own White House on the Iran War, crime and immigration enforcement
• He said his second term has been the "most successful" of any president in US history
• Trump said he plans to visit every battleground US state ahead of the midterms - highlighting key races in Texas, Michigan and North Carolina where Republicans face tight contests against Democrats
• "This is one of the most important elections of your lives," he told the audience, adding a Republican midterms loss would mean the country "going through hell"

The midterm elections usually serve as a referendum on the president's term so far. More on that here.

We're closing our live coverage on this page shortly, but you can read more about the events of the evening in our news story at this link.

Sakshi Venkatraman
US reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Every four years, the US holds a slate of important elections that shape the political future of the country.

These elections don't choose the president. In fact, they fall in the middle of the president's four-year term. That's how they get their name: the midterms.

And they're coming up this November.

Here's what you need to know:

• US voters select who will represent them in Congress - the branch of government responsible for creating the laws that govern the country
• Currently, Trump's Republican party holds the White House and a majority in both chambers of Congress - the Senate and the House of Representative. But that could change after the midterms
• Democrats, the other major US party, want to flip seats so they can have the majority and pass laws that are important to them. They've been campaigning hard all over the country.
• This convention is meant to drum up support for Republicans, as many of them are facing very close challenges with Democrats in US states like Texas, Michigan and North Carolina.
• Midterms often serve as a verdict on how voters think the president is doing, and the party that holds the White House tends to lose seats.

We’ve got a bit of reaction now from the Democratic Party.

A spokesperson for the party says that Trump is offering “empty promises” to Americans, in an apparent reference to his pledge to give every US citizen $5,000 (£3,700) if the Republican Party wins the November midterm elections.

“The only people reaping the benefits of Trump’s economy are himself, his family, and his ultra-rich elite donors,” Kendall Witmer, a party spokesperson says.

She adds: “Meanwhile, working families get nothing except sky-high receipts at the grocery store and the pump, unaffordable healthcare premiums, and wages that aren’t keeping up with inflation.”

Democratic lawmakers earlier in the day criticised the unusual decision to hold a convention for a midterm election at all.

“This bizarre Republican midterm convention here can’t paper over the fact that Republicans have done nothing to earn your vote,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said on Wednesday. The governor could be a contender in the 2028 presidential election.

The timing of this convention was unusual, but many moments of day one were familiar.

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

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Image source, Reuters

Trump clearly loved his speech - but will voters?published at 04:09 BST

04:09 BST

Sarah Smith
North America editor

Donald Trump got a very enthusiastic response from attendees at the convention. But I doubt anyone enjoyed this speech as much as he did.

We heard all of his favourite highlights from campaign addresses and political rallies, as he indulged in what he calls the “weave”, when his speeches veer wildly from one topic to another.

As well as running through his achievements in office – from tax cuts to drastically reduced illegal immigration – he talked up his new White House ballroom and claimed Iran was only two or three weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon.

He joked about renaming the state of New Mexico as New America and even changing the Strait of Hormuz to the Strait of Trump.

President Trump may have loved every one of the 100-plus minutes he spent addressing this unusual convention.

It is less clear whether this lengthy address will have succeeded in winning over any wavering voters who may have been watching on TV.

Trump tells the crowd he will appear again on Thursday night, thanks them for their support and once again encourages them to vote for Republicans in the upcoming elections.

He then ends his speech.

Trump now speaks about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

"Exactly one year ago tomorrow, a far-left extremist assassinated my great friend in conservative voice, Charlie Kirk, because Charlie Kirk spoke the truth," Trump says.

Tyler Robinson, who is accused of murdering Kirk, has pleaded not guilty.

The crowd in the arena Trump is speaking in gives a standing ovation to Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk's widow.

Image source, Reuters

Unclear where Trump's $5,000 payouts would come from - or if it's legalpublished at 03:23 BST

03:23 BST

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent, reporting from Dallas

As we've just reported, the president has said he will give all adult Americans a $5,000 "dividend" if Republicans retain control of Congress in November. The only caveat, Trump says, is that the dividend must be spent in the US.

"We don't want you going to Canada," Trump says.

It may be the first time a US president offered such a payout to Americans, in the context of an election year plea to get out and vote.

It’s also unclear where the funds would come from, how the US government would track where the money was spent, and whether such a payout would even be legal.

Trump has long been known for throwing out unconventional ideas at rallies to grab headlines.

Trump says he will pay every adult US citizen $5,000 (£3,700) if Republicans win both chambers of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.

"If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the US Senate, because of our tremendous economic success...I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000," he says, adding it's "much like a successful company" paying dividends to investors.

Trump didn't give any more details and it's unclear how the payout would work. We're asking the White House for more details.

Trump now makes a joke about the news organisations that are present, saying they will film the empty seat of a man who has gone to the bathroom and say the president couldn't fill the room.

"So please if you don't mind, don't anybody go to the bathroom," Trump says.

It's by no means the first time the president has called out the media for its reporting on crowd sizes.

Image source, Getty Images

Staying on the topic of the Iran conflict, which has escalated again in recent days, Trump calls Tehran the "bully" of the Middle East.

He also muses again about renaming the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Iran, the Trump Strait. He does not have the authority to do this in Iran.

That's unlike his recent renaming of Lake Ontario as "Lake America" in the US, as he escalates a trade war with Canada.

Trump blames his predecessors for "trillions of dollars in waste and green energy scams", saying "it was them that caused the affordability - to use their word - crisis".

"I'm bringing the prices way down, way, way down," the president says.

He adds that the price of food and "almost every other item are rapidly going down", while the price of oil will also go down when "we win the war with Iran".

Oil prices rose to $100 (£74) a barrel earlier on Wednesday, after the US and Iran attacked tankers in the Gulf region and Yemen's Houthis hit oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.

Do Republicans at the convention centre blame Trump for the high oil prices? We spoke to several people earlier:

The US president hits out at Democrats' policies on issues like immigration, touting his administration's policies as more successful.

The Democrats "gave us the worst and most dangerous border in American history", Trump says, adding that, with his administration, the US has "the strongest and most secure border in our country's history".

"It's like we're living in a different country than two years ago," he says.

Trump is now speaking about Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the US Senate in the midterms.

It does not start like a typical endorsement.

"The fact is that some may not like the way he dresses. I don't," Trump said, before adding, "although tonight he looked very spiffy in his blue suit."

Image source, EPA

"You may not like the way he looks," Trump continues. "But here's the news: in the history of Texas, he is the single greatest attorney general you've ever had, and maybe the top attorney general in the whole United States."

Paxton, a staunch Trump ally who has faced controversy during his tenure as attorney general, is running against Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico.

The seat has gone Republican in recent decades, but Democrats are hoping for an upset.

Image source, Getty Images

The US president next moves to talking about states that have seen the most highly contested races - known as swing states.

He says is going to visit every one of these states to campaign for congresspeople and senators.

"We can win every one of those races, but I'm going to go to every one of those states," Trump says, adding there will be rallies.

Image source, Reuters

A loss for Republicans in November would mean to "lose your border, you're going to lose your tax cuts, you're going to lose your safety and security", Donald Trump says.

"You will be going through hell just like you did just two years ago," he says, adding the US used to be the "laughing stock" of the world, but that no one is laughing anymore.

There isn't anyone who can rally Republicans quite like Trumppublished at 02:31 BST

02:31 BST

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent, reporting from

Going back to his first term in office, Republicans have lost ground when President Donald Trump isn't on the ballot. On Wednesday, he implored the Republican base to reverse the trend.

"I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot," Trump says in his speech at the midterm convention in Dallas.

The remark is an acknowledgment by Trump that he remains the party's best driver of turnout.

It may be true, but it also speaks to the challenge Republicans have both in 2026 and 2028.

Trump won't be on the ballot again, and though he can continue campaigning for the party, there isn't a clear successor who can rally the party base quite like Trump.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump next invokes an oft-cited statistic, that the presidents' party tends to lose seats in Congress in the midterm elections.

"We've got to change that," Trump tells supporters, urging them to "pretend I'm on the ballot" and turn out to vote in November.

Trump touts how well his second presidential term has been going so far, saying: "This has been the most successful two years, financially and every other way in the history of the presidency."

"I want you to remember me in four or five years when this country is rocketing. Remember, I'm the one that got it started," he adds.

Trump starts his speech by praising the first ever Republican midterm convention and reminiscing on the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.

He says the upcoming November midterm elections will be some of the most important in US history, calling them a test that could determine the country's next 250 years.

"If we hand America's future to the radical left Democrats...it will be a tragedy," he says. "Vote Republican and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come."

His comments are met with chants of "USA".