The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-11 · by David Smith in Dallas, Texas
With his approval rating at a historic low, Donald Trump has brought down the curtain on the Republicans’ first ever midterm convention by pleading with supporters to do him “the biggest favour” and “pretend” they are voting for him in November’s US elections.
asserted
they → bring → elections
The president is facing a growing backlash over rising prices and the war in Iran.
asserted
president → face → Iran
Sweeping losses for the Republican party could effectively turn Trump into a lame duck for his final two years in the White House.
uncertain
losses → turn → House
Sensing political danger, Trump wrapped up the novel two-day event in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday with a pitch that critics are likely to say smacked of desperation: “You gotta do me the biggest favour you’ve ever done me.
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you → sense → me
You’ve gotta do this for me.
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You → get → me
You’ve got to pretend I’m on the ticket.
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I → get → ticket
I’m on the ticket!
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I → ’m → ticket
I’m on the ticket!
asserted
I → ’m → ticket
He’s on the ticket!
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He → ’ → ticket
Pretend I’m on the ticket because this is going to turn out to be one of the most important elections.”
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this → pretend → elections
In an improvised pledge of allegiance to himself, Trump directed the crowd of about 20,000 to raise their right hands and repeat: “I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States, that loves us so much he 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 to cheat like hell like they do.
asserted
they → direct → hell
The convention had been aimed at turning around Republicans’ fortunes.
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convention → aim → fortunes
Opinion polls suggest they are on course to lose the US House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate.
uncertain
they → suggest → Representatives
In what was effectively an abridged version of his rambling keynote address on Wednesday, the president reiterated his promise of “Trump dividend” of $5,000 for every US adult if Republicans win both chambers of Congress.
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Republicans → reiterate → Congress
Democrats have dismissed the pledge as a bribe while economists have warned it would cost more than $1tn.
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it → dismiss → 1tn
Trump also hammered the theme of the convention: drawing a contrast between his own accomplishments and what he argues amounts to a threat posed by Democrats.
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he → hammer → Democrats
“Less than two years ago, the American people gave us a mandate to save America – and in 19 months, I’ve delivered on every single promise I made,” he claimed.
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he → give → promise
“They gave us wide open borders with 25 million people pouring in from all over the globe.
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They → give → globe
They turned our cities into scenes of death and misery, murder, poverty and destruction, and made America a laughingstock all over world.
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America → turn → world
“But we took that dark age of America and turned it into the golden age of America.”
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we → take → America
The reduction of prescription drug prices alone “should get us a big victory in our midterms”, he suggested, before he turned the microphone over to opera performer Christopher Macchio, who belted out a soaring rendition of America the Beautiful as red, white, blue and golden balloons cascaded down from the ceiling of the basketball arena.
uncertain
balloons → get → arena
The convention resembled a Trump mega-rally more than a traditional party meeting, with no nominations or formal business and more than 50 speakers or presentations each night.
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convention → resemble → nominations
Supporters wore “Make America Great Again” regalia and waved signs displaying the Stars and Stripes.
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America → wear → Stars
Republicans believe it has been successful in galvanising the party’s base in the face of stiff electoral headwinds.
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it → believe → headwinds
Earlier on Thursday, speaker after speaker sought to champion Trump’s accomplishments while constantly branding the Democratic party as extremist and communist.
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speaker → seek → party
The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, delivered a fiery address setting Republican “common sense” against a “dystopian hellscape” of leftwing ideology.
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son → deliver → ideology
“As we speak, Democrat candidates across the country are openly embracing the radical ideology of democratic socialism,” suggested Trump Jr.
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candidates → speak → socialism
“They claim that their socialism is for the people, but that’s the exact same story we’ve heard from every communist in human history.”
uncertain
we → claim → history
Describing childhood memories of his grandparents in communist Czechoslovakia, he warned of bread lines and rationing.
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he → describe → lines
“Communism is on the march and it’s up to us to stop it in its tracks,” he said.
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he → ’ → tracks
Trump Jr framed the Republican platform, including pledges to end taxes on tips, overtime and social security, as a direct response to a “war on the working people” by Democrats.
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Jr → frame → Democrats
“The choice is clear,” he said.
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he → say → ?
“Don’t let these radicals gaslight you into thinking common sense is extreme, and extreme is somehow common sense.
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extreme → let → you
Don’t let them convince you that caring about this country makes you a villain.”
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you → let → country
Senator Ted Cruz meanwhile warned of a “red-green alliance” between “communists and Islamists” who “hate Christians, hate Jews and hate capitalism”.
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who → warn → capitalism
Invoking his father’s escape from Cuban communism, Cruz declared that “sharia law has no place in America” and is “fundamentally inconsistent with the constitution”.
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law → invoke → constitution
The House speaker, Mike Johnson, echoed the conspiratorial tone, suggesting the nation was being “attacked from within”.
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nation → echo → within
The Democratic party is now beholden to radicals, he claimed, warning: “They’re the ones who have let the barbarians inside the gate, and next year the communists will be in Congress.
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communists → claim → Congress
That’s what’s so frightening.”
asserted
what → ’ → ?
Johnson added that, while big names like Zohran Mamdani and Abdul El-Sayed are known entities, the bigger threat comes from “Democrats in the swing seats who say one thing, and then join forces and vote with the socialists that they’re afraid of”.
asserted
they → add → that
…and 21 more, not listed.
