Trump makes another shocking proposal: vote Republican in the mid-term elections and everyone will receive $5,000

He also boasted of having brought about the “biggest tax cut in history”. This is not the case: setting aside the debatable merits of his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ on taxation, it was, at most, the sixth-largest on the list according to conservative economic think tanks themselves. He has insisted that his economic policy and his mistreatment of allies have led to twenty trillion dollars of foreign investment flowing into the country, a figure that is unfounded: it is double the White House’s own estimates, which already include existing projects and vague promises. He claimed that his tariffs had brought in “thousands of billions”. Not quite: initially the figure stood at 300 billion, then fell to 132.5 as he was forced to pay compensation after many of the tariffs were ruled unlawful.

Trump, however, made no mention of the economic crisis currently being felt by Americans: the cost-of-living crisis, exacerbated by the conflict with Tehran and by tariffs. Apart from claiming that energy prices will fall as soon as the war against Iran is won (it was supposed to last a few weeks; today it has reached its seventh month). Naturally, as always, he reiterated that he had won the US presidency three times, refusing to accept his defeat in 2020, whilst accusing the Democrats of constant electoral ‘fraud’.

Among the exaggerations was the claim about the crowd at the Dallas arena, which he described as “packed to the rafters”. Numerous sections appeared empty or half-empty, including those reserved for state delegations and for the most devoted supporters who have been following the president to his rallies for years.

The so-called Midterm Convention, an unprecedented event, has in reality no real significance or role; it is, first and foremost, a massive rally intended to mobilise the party’s voters and those of the MAGA movement, who are at times disillusioned. The degree to which the stands are filled can, however, serve as an indicator of enthusiasm – or the lack thereof. The two-day event, yesterday and today, was designed to be dominated by Trump, who spoke at the start and will address the gathering tonight to bring it to a close. The reasoning is that the President, as he has explicitly stated, is convinced he is the only one who can motivate his own voters.

Amidst Trump’s appearances, rallies are planned featuring Vice-President JD Vance – a potential future heir to the MAGA movement – and a number of parliamentary candidates, in an attempt to promote them and save the narrow conservative majority in Congress, which is currently under threat. It was also an event designed to raise funds yet again – a hallmark of Trump: a substantial donation was required to attend, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars per person.

Also present are a number of the administration’s most prominent and controversial ministers, from Health Secretary Robert Kennedy – who is under fire over outbreaks of infectious diseases amongst children, and not only because of his anti-vaccine stance – to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, fresh from the slap in the face he received from the markets when he tried to cap bond yields with plenty of rhetoric and small-scale bond purchases. These actions have come to symbolise the new slogan critics have pinned on the Trump administration: the inverted maxim once coined by Theodore Roosevelt: ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick’. The administration talks tough, but its stick now appears to have lost its edge.

A Democratic senator who might switch to the Republicans – but who is of questionable use to the party – also responded to Trump’s call: John Fetterman of Pennsylvania sent a video greeting to those gathered, but he is already accustomed to supporting Trump. He has recently been the subject of investigations by the Wall Street Journal into his complete lack of interest in legislative work and Congress, the concerns of local voters, and his passion instead for interviews on Fox News. Much of his staff has abandoned him, even setting up a website to denounce his manoeuvres. What openly betrayed the party’s anxieties, however, was the absence of several high-profile Republican candidates in uncertain and decisive races, who fear that Trump’s endorsement could prove toxic: from Susan Collins in Maine to Dan Sullivan in Alaska.

Trump has had to contend with a generally unfavourable climate, not only amongst the core conservative and MAGA ranks: opinion polls show his support has fallen to around 30 per cent, against the backdrop of an economy under strain and the unpopular war with Iran. Yesterday, he also had to compete for the public’s attention with the opening of the American football season, featuring the high-profile match between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, which traditionally attracts record viewing figures.

Trump’s efforts to change the electoral rules at the last minute have, to date, been far from a clear success: the courts have blocked some new pro-Republican state electoral maps, and his request to restrict postal voting – which he considers fraudulent – remains in doubt. Looking further ahead, the administration has also, in the last few hours, proposed new rules for the 2030 decennial census, which would, for the first time, exclude from the count legal immigrants who do not yet hold a green card granting permanent residence – a move set to reduce the representation of constituencies with high immigrant populations that have traditionally supported the Democrats. Critics, however, argue that the proposal may constitute a breach of the Constitution.

Amidst all these uncertainties, the Convention opened at the stadium in Dallas, in the heart of Texas – a long-standing Republican stronghold, but one which is itself up for grabs this year when it comes to electing senators and representatives. In the Senate, the conservative candidate Ken Paxton – who is very close to Trump, who has decided to spend millions from his own political and financial organisation on his campaign – is the former state attorney-general, whose reputation has been tarnished by a long series of financial and personal scandals that leave him vulnerable. Yesterday, the President presented him as the best attorney-general Texas has ever had. The Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to dream big by fielding a new, young face, the former seminarian James Talarico, who, whilst the Republicans and their donors were gathering in the arena amidst colourful balloons, visited a soup kitchen in the city to demonstrate a difference with which he hopes to make an impact. Even against Trump’s cheques.