President Donald Trump will deliver the keynote address both Wednesday and Thursday night at the Republican National Committee’s historic first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, the RNC announced Tuesday.
The president will open Wednesday evening with a primetime speech scheduled for 9 p.m. ET at the American Airlines Center, then return Thursday to close out the two-day confab with remarks following Vice President JD Vance’s keynote address.
The convention is designed to energize the GOP’s MAGA base with less than two months until the midterm elections — a critical push as Republicans defend slim majorities in both the House and Senate.
Trump supporters traditionally turn out in lower numbers when the president isn’t on the ballot, making the Dallas gathering a strategic play to boost enthusiasm heading into November.
“THE MIDTERM ELECTION IS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS ARE FIGHTING TO LAUNCH THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA WHILE EXTREME LIBERAL DEMOCRATS WANT TO TEAR THIS COUNTRY APART.”
RNC Chair Joe Gruters told Fox News Digital the convention will spotlight Democrats’ “leftward lurch” and “tie the entire Democratic Party to far-left and socialist proposals.”
Trump first floated the idea of a midterm convention last year to showcase signature policy achievements from his administration and Congressional Republicans over the past two years. He called it “a truly Historic Event” and “a RALLY like none other.”
The speaker lineup reads like a battleground-state all-star roster. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — the GOP nominee running to replace retiring Sen. John Cornyn — speaks Wednesday evening, along with former RNC Chair Mike Whatley, who’s defending retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis’ seat in North Carolina.
Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, locked in a tight race with former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, will address the crowd. So will Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia, challenging Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the swing state.
Former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers — running against far-left Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for an open Senate seat in the Great Lakes battleground — takes the stage Thursday evening.
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks Thursday night, according to the RNC schedule. Senate Majority Leader John Thune won’t take the podium but will be in Dallas with a full schedule helping Senate candidates fundraise, a source familiar with the planning told Fox News Digital.
Trump Cabinet heavyweights round out the roster: Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speak Wednesday, while Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — architect of the Make America Healthy Again movement — addresses the convention Thursday.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, seeking a fourth term, and Sen. Ted Cruz, the conservative firebrand eyeing a potential 2028 White House bid, both speak Thursday.
The DNC, which remains in debt and skipped holding a similar midterm convention, attacked the GOP gathering as a “multi-million dollar celebration to satisfy an aging and erratic Trump.”
DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer argued Americans “don’t want a ‘Trumpapalooza’ — they want lower costs and affordable healthcare.”
Republicans see it differently. Gruters emphasized “the choice is clear in November and the American people will reject these liberal policies and deliver historic wins for Republicans across the country.”
The convention serves as the GOP’s closing argument heading into the midterms, with Trump using the national stage to drive turnout in races that will determine whether Republicans hold Congress.
