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".

Image source, Getty Images

President Donald Trump has now taken the stage to deliver his keynote speech.

Stay with us as we bring you the key lines, and you can click watch live to stream it above.

Image source, Getty Images

As we wait for Trump to speak, we can see Health Secretary RFK Jr, Vice-President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shaking hands and chatting.

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

Image source, Getty Images

US Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke at the Republicans' midterm convention on Wednesday night, putting the nation’s most powerful law enforcement official smack in the middle of an explicitly political event.

He touted the administration’s aggressive work to pursue fraud and deport people in the country illegally.

"To evil men and women it his country know this: President Trump will hold you accountable," he said.

It’s a major departure from precedent. Even though US attorneys general ultimately answer to the president, they typically avoid making their work appear political. That has usually included skipping events like party conventions.

Donald Trump has arrived at the convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, according to reporters travelling with the president.

The lineup on night one of this Republican convention includes lawmakers and candidates running in the November election.

“If we lose Texas, we lose the common-sense revolution. If we lose the common-sense revolution, we lose America,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running as the state's Republican Senate candidate, says.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump is in his car on the way to the convention centre in Dallas, according to reporters travelling with the president.

Image source, Reuters

While tonight is about Republicans and their bid to push candidates in competitive races, Democrats have also been speaking in Texas.

Ahead of tonight’s convention, Illinois' Democratic Governor JB Pritzker travelled south to Dallas to stump for Democratic candidates in Texas. Chiefly James Talarico, who is running in a close election with Republican Ken Paxton for US Senate.

"This bizarre Republican midterm convention here can't paper over the fact that Republicans have done nothing to earn your vote," Pritzker said.

"Donald Trump is hoping that a flashy prime time event will make you forget that his trade war is killing costs for families at the grocery store, his war in Iran is killing ranchers and farmers and their way of life, and his war on the working families of this country [is] raising the costs of healthcare and housing."