Republican midterm convention wraps up in Dallas, Texas: Key takeaways

Dallas, Texas – Night two of the first-of-its-kind Republican midterm convention has wrapped up, with the party officially hitching its wagon to US President Donald Trump as it faces uphill legislative elections in November.

On the first night , speaker after speaker portrayed an existential fight against an increasingly “radical” Democratic Party. In his keynote address, Trump urged voters on Wednesday to “pretend” he is on the ballot, even as entrenched concerns over affordability, fuelled by the US-Israel war on Iran, have seen the president’s approval ratings dive.

Going a step further, Trump also pledged to give US citizens a “$5,000 dividend” if Republicans hold onto both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the elections, a promise that met with consternation from both his supporters and critics.

Night two saw more efforts to rally the Republican base. Here were the key takeaways.

The Democratic National Committee opted not to hold its own national convention, an event typically held only during presidential election cycles.

Instead, the liberal response was largely contained to a small protest held near the American Airlines Center, where the Republican convention was taking place, with Democrats holding a rally at Dallas City Hall in the evening.

“It’s to bring national attention to this and hopefully put some pressure on politicians that aren’t so firmly rooted in MAGA,” said Jon Pattison, 66, from Frisco, Texas, a retiree and activist with the Indivisible group, which organised the protest near the American Airlines Center.

The convention “is going to have the opposite effect from what Trump wants. Like rats from a sinking ship”, he said.