DALLAS: US President Donald Trump took the stage to cap Wednesday's opening night of the unusual Republican midterm convention, hammering home the message that Democrats are extremists and revelling in making the upcoming elections all about himself – even if his low approval ratings may hurt the party in close races around the country.
Many Republicans, including those facing tight races, are skipping the two-day affair in Dallas, while others hope their appearance will put them in the national spotlight as they work to turn out Trump's supporters in a year without him on the ballot.
“If we hand America's future to the radical-left Democrats, our nation will spend the next decade just getting back on its feet. It'll be a tragedy," Trump said. "Vote Republican and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come.”
The convention – part rally, part fundraiser – comes as Republicans try to boost enthusiasm heading into the final stretch before Election Day, despite voters' economic concerns and dissatisfaction with the war in Iran.
Much of the agenda sought to cast Democrats as too left wing, describing them as communists, anti-American or even evil. Republicans called themselves a “common sense” alternative in the fight to maintain control of Congress.
“I'm sure it will become a staple in the years to come,” Trump said.
The show got a boost from an unlikely source, Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who said in a video message that “I'm always going to reject the extremes and socialism”.
Fetterman, who has clashed with his party's leaders, referenced his state's steel industry in pledging to “work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life”.
Coinciding with the convention's opening night, Trump's political operation, which has been sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars, began spending heavily through a new group, the No Going Back PAC Inc, The New York Times first reported on Wednesday.
The group has reserved USD 49 million in six competitive Senate races and one competitive House race.
That's in addition to the USD 10 million that MAGA Inc, Trump's super PAC, has spent on the Texas Senate race.
Normal political conventions are held every four years and serve a purpose beyond pomp and circumstance, with parties formally nominating their presidential picks. This week's convention, by contrast, is The Trump Show, through and through.
“Do we love President Trump?” Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters, one of the first speakers, asked the crowd. He had promoted the event before it began as "a Trump-a-Palooza.”
The walls of the basketball arena, where the Dallas Mavericks play, were covered with photographs of Trump, even in the elevators. Plenty of attendees wore cowboy hats and boots and many sequins were on display – as well as “Make America Great Again” and American flag caps and other gear.
People in the crowd waved signs reading “Republicans Are Fixing Democrats' Mess”, despite Republicans controlling the US House, Senate and presidency.
“Looks very big. Looks very exciting,” Trump said of the gathering crowd before boarding Air Force One to fly to Dallas.
That wasn't actually the case during the early hours of programming, when speeches were delivered to scores of empty seats, even in areas close to the stage. Crowds began mostly filling them before Trump's speech, though areas in the upper decks remained sparsely populated.
The president also said that oil prices – which have surged because of the Iran war – likely won't come down until after the midterms, a bit of economic forecasting that could darken his party's fortunes.
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” he promised. That came as oil prices jumped more than 3 per cent on Wednesday.
Trump speaks both nights, delivering a keynote address on Wednesday night and speaking again on Thursday, after Vice President J D Vance gives his own address.
“Look, he's an entertainer, right? He obviously loves big, big events and his career has been built around that,” Ray Washburne, co-chair of the Dallas host committee, said at a pre-convention event hosted by Bloomberg News. “He's always front and center.”
Washburne said the event is expected to draw roughly 30,000 people across both nights, but getting airtime could be challenging. The NFL season kicked off Wednesday with a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. On Thursday, the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams will play in Australia.
Speakers included Republican congressional leadership and Cabinet members like Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. Attorney General Todd Blanche also spoke, which is uncommon for the nation's top law enforcement official, as Justice Department leaders don't typically address such events given the agency's tradition of political independence.
Blanche said Trump and Vance “put American families first. They prove that order and prosperity go hand in hand”.
GOP Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who is facing off against Abdul El-Sayed, isn't giving his speech until Thursday night. However, many opening night speakers singled out El-Sayed as a sign Democrats were too radical.