President Trump urged Republicans to treat November’s midterms as a referendum on himself, telling the party’s first ever midterm convention on Wednesday: ‘I’m asking you to pretend I’m on the ballot.’

The plea, delivered on the opening night of the two-day Dallas gathering, demonstrated how the GOP’s fate remains tethered to a president who is not himself facing voters, as the party fights to hold Congress.

Trump opened his remarks by reviving his false claim that he won the 2020 election, declaring: ‘We won the presidency three times.’ 

He lost to Joe Biden in 2020.

He then turned to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the struggling GOP nominee for the state’s US Senate seat, unfurling a purely Trumpian-endorsement.

‘He may not dress right. He may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen. But you know what he is? He’s the greatest attorney general in America, and he deserves to be your next senator,’ Trump said.

Paxton is in a razor-thin race with Democrat James Talarico.

Later, Trump even unleashed a swear word to describe the Democrats as pushing ‘b***s***’ noting that they have more of it ‘than any human beings on the planet.’

The comment came as Trump shared the Democrats’ arguments against voters presenting a photo-id to cast their ballots. 

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with attendees as he arrives to speak during the Republican National Midterm Convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 9, 2026

People pause during the program on the first day of the 2026 Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center on September 09, 2026 in Dallas, Texas

The president walked out to Lee Greenwood performing God Bless The USA, and the contrast with what came before was stark. The crowd had sat through the earlier slate of speakers with little energy, then hung on Trump’s every word.

Trump is scheduled to speak on both nights of the convention.

Still, the weeks’ guest list tells its own story about Trump’s cratering popularity. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is not speaking, a snub that follows Trump’s frustration with the South Dakotan over stalled pieces of his agenda, even as other House and Senate leaders were handed slots.

Several candidates in the country’s most competitive races are also skipping the main stage, among them Maine’s Republican Senator Susan Collins, Congresswoman Ashley Hinson who is running for the US Senate in Iowa, and John E Sununu, the Republican nominee trying to flip New Hampshire’s Senate seat red.

Most prognosticators expect Democrats to win back the US House of Representatives, but the Senate will be tougher with battleground races in Maine, Ohio, Michigan and Alaska set to determine control. 

Trump’s own trip to Texas was delayed Wednesday after his new Qatari-gifted Air Force One deployed its emergency evacuation slide.

His keynote has competition too. The NFL season kicks off the same night with the New England Patriots at the Seattle Seahawks, a rematch of February’s Super Bowl.

20,000 convention attendees descended upon Dallas to take part in the historic midterm gathering. 

Yet, not all of the party faithful were excited about the event.

One GOP lobbyist told Politico Playbook, ‘the vibes are very bad,’ while two others remarked that Trump will be competing for attention with the start of the NFL season.

Some seats were empty at the opening of the first day of the Midterm Republican National Convention (RNC) as crowds waited outside in 95 degree heat to enter the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 9th, 2026

US Air Force personnel remove an emergency inflatable slide after it deployed on Air Force One before President Donald Trump arrived to board it on his way to Dallas

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Joe Gruters holds up a giant gavel as he speaks on the first day of the 2026 Republican National Convention

 House lawmakers including Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin were early speakers on Wednesday’s slate.

Luna attacked Democrats for their history of self-serving stock trading, and Van Orden boosted Trump’s Rural Healthcare plan.

US Senate nominees including Ken Paxton of Texas, Michael Whatley of North Carolina, and Mike Collins of Georgia are expected to speak, as is incumbent Ohio Senator Jon Husted.

Trump’s cabinet secretaries including Brooke Rollins, Scott Bessent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and even Attorney General Todd Blanche are on the agenda as well.

The two day event will also include a tribute to conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University last September. The 25th anniversary of 9-11, taking place on Friday, will also be commemorated during Thursday’s programming at the convention.