The US president gave a wide-ranging speech at the Republican midterm convention. He defended the war in Iran, trade wars and tariffs, and the White House ballroom. He also called Democrats evil and immigrants animals.
US President Donald Trump made a pitch to voters on Wednesday: a $5,000 (€4,300) “dividend” for every American adult if the Republican Party keeps control of both houses of Congress in the midterm elections.
“If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” Trump said at the Republican midterm convention on Wednesday.
“The only caveat we have is that the dividend must be spent in the United States of America,” he added. “We don’t want you going to Canada spending the money, we don’t want you going to China or Germany.”
The president did not say how he would finance the measure, nor how the government would track where citizens spend the funds. He had previously promised citizens $2,000 checks from tariff revenues that have so far not materialized.
What else did Trump talk about?
Trump made the announcement as the two-day event kicked off in Dallas, Texas.
In a wide-ranging speech, Trump talked up some of the biggest — and most divisive — aspects of his second term in office, including the crackdown on immigration, the war in Iran, tariffs and subsequent economic retaliation, the White House ballroom, and restrictions on transgender people.
The president told voters to “pretend” that he’s on the ballot at the elections that will see new representatives and senators elected in November.
His attempts to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario after America were met with rapturous applause. Later, he riffed on renaming the Strait of Hormuz as the “Trump Strait.”
Who else was at the Republican convention?
Other speakers focused less on the Trump administration’s track record and instead attacked Democrats as “evil,” “communists” and “socialists.”
Among those who spoke on Wednesday were Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a close Trump ally who is locked in a tough Senate race against rising Democratic challenger James Talarico, who represents a younger and more progressive wing of that party.
Another Republican senator, Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, was introduced by his Democratic counterpart, John Fetterman, in an unusual move.
Fetterman, who has increasingly broken with Democratic Party positions in recent years, introduced the Republican as his “great friend” and pledged to work with Trump to protect the state’s steel industry.
Conservative activists were also in attendance.
The Associated Press spotted Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group. Rhodes had been sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol, but later benefited from Trump’s sweeping clemency after he returned to office.
Trump also praised Erika Kirk for being in attendance on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the killing of her husband, Charlie Kirk.
Vice President JD Vance received a brief shoutout near the end of the speech.
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Edited by: Sean Sinico
DW News
