By JILL COLVIN, THOMAS BEAUMONT and WILL WEISSERT<\/p>\n
DALLAS (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> capped Wednesday\u2019s opening night of the unusual Republican midterm convention by slamming Democrats as extremists and staunchly defending the war in Iran while making the extraordinary pledge to pay every adult American $5,000 if his party retains its control of both chambers of Congress after November.<\/p>\n The proposal, which could cost at least $1 trillion, was financially and politically implausible. But it reflected Trump\u2019s apparent calculation that he needs bold moves to revive Republicans\u2019 chances as Democrats try to take advantage of his low approval ratings in close races across the country.<\/p>\n Trump reveled in making the upcoming elections<\/a> all about himself, even though it\u2019s unclear whether that will help or hurt his party. Many Republicans are skipping the two-day affair in Dallas, while others hoped their appearance would put them in the national spotlight as they work to turn out Trump\u2019s supporters in a year without him on the ballot.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we hand America\u2019s future to the radical-left Democrats, our nation will spend the next decade just getting back on its feet,\u201d Trump said. \u201cVote Republican and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come.\u201d <\/p>\n Trump urged the crowd to pretend he\u2019s running in November and said there were about 35 key races in the Senate and House as his party hopes to maintain control of Congress. He pledged \u201cto go to everyone one of those states,\u201d suggesting he might visit some repeatedly. <\/p>\n But he also frequently mentioned the unpopular war in Iran<\/a>, even seeming to acknowledge that it had hurt the U.S. economy. \u201cWe were doing great,\u201d Trump said before he approached his economic advisers to say, \u201cI hate to do this to you,\u201d explaining that he needed to start the conflict because Iran was perhaps \u201ctwo, maybe three weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.\u201d <\/p>\n He similarly defended imposing sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners<\/a>, insisting that the economic turmoil would be worth it. <\/p>\n Trump\u2019s most dramatic comments, however, were to promise, \u201cIf the Republicans win the Senate and House, because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.\u201d <\/p>\n The president said the only caveat would be that recipients spend the money in the country, although he provided no details on how such a plan would be implemented. <\/p>\n \u201cIt will be called the Trump dividend,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n The convention was part rally, part fundraiser <\/p>\n The gathering took place as Republicans try to boost enthusiasm heading into the final stretch before Election Day, despite voters\u2019 economic concerns and dissatisfaction with the war in Iran. The event described Democrats as communists<\/a>, anti-American or even evil. Republicans called themselves a \u201ccommon sense\u201d alternative.<\/p>\n Trump used several minutes of his speech to praise Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is in a tough Senate race in normally what is America\u2019s largest red state. <\/p>\n \u201cHe may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Trump said of Paxton, while adding, \u201che deserves to be your next senator.\u201d<\/p>\n The convention got a boost from an unlikely source, Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who said in a video message that \u201cI\u2019m always going to reject the extremes and socialism.\u201d Fetterman, who has clashed with his party\u2019s leaders<\/a>, referenced his state\u2019s steel industry in pledging to \u201cwork with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life.\u201d <\/p>\n A lineup of Trump and more Trump<\/p>\n 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\u2019s convention, by contrast, is The Trump Show, through and through.<\/p>\n The walls of the 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 \u2014 as well as \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d and American flag caps and other gear. <\/p>\n People in the crowd waved signs reading \u201cRepublicans Are Fixing Democrats\u2019 Mess,\u201d despite Republicans controlling the U.S. House, Senate and presidency.<\/p>\n During the early hours of programming, speeches were delivered to scores of empty seats, even in areas close to the stage. Crowds began mostly filling them before Trump\u2019s speech, though areas in the upper decks remained sparsely populated. <\/p>\n Trump will follow up Wednesday\u2019s address with closing remarks on Thursday, after Vice President JD Vance gives his own speech. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not doing a big deal like this,\u201d Trump said, wrapping up his opening night address that approached the two-hour mark. <\/p>\n Ray Washburne, co-chair of the Dallas host committee, said the event is expected to draw roughly 30,000 people across both nights, but getting airtime was 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.<\/p>\n Key candidates have their turns on stage <\/p>\n Speakers included Republican congressional leadership and Cabinet members. Attorney General Todd Blanche<\/a> also spoke, which is uncommon for the nation\u2019s top law enforcement official, as Justice Department leaders don\u2019t typically address such events given the agency\u2019s tradition of political independence.<\/p>\n Blanche said Trump and Vance \u201cput American families first. They prove that order and prosperity go hand in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n Republican Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who is facing off against Abdul El-Sayed, isn\u2019t giving his speech until Thursday night. However, many opening night speakers singled out El-Sayed as a sign Democrats were too radical. <\/p>\n There are 12 hours of programming over two nights, with 100-plus speakers and segments focused on subjects such as tax cuts, fraud allegations, border security and a proposed ban on members of Congress trading stocks. The war with Iran wasn\u2019t on the official agenda, although Trump talked about it in his own remarks and before arriving in Dallas.<\/p>\n As he spoke to reporters on the tarmac outside Air Force One, Trump said that oil prices, which have surged because of the conflict, likely won\u2019t come down until after the midterms, a bit of economic forecasting that could darken his party\u2019s fortunes. <\/p>\n \u201cRight after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,\u201d he promised, as oil prices jumped more than 3%<\/a> Wednesday.<\/p>\n Organizers say they\u2019re fine with some Republicans skipping the convention <\/p>\n Some Republicans balked at high attendance fees. Republican House members were being asked to pay $25,000 for convention tickets and lodging, according to people familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to speak frankly about the private arrangement. <\/p>\n An additional 2,000 tickets were distributed by the National Republican Congressional Committee, largely to donors and others to attend the convention. Other tickets were allocated to state parties to distribute as they saw fit.<\/p>\n \u201cPer the RNC, this is a ticketed fundraiser and rally, not a traditional national convention,\u201d the Denton County Republican Party in Texas wrote in a Facebook post<\/a>, which advertised packages from $5,000 to $20,000.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s 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 reported Wednesday. The group has reserved $49 million in six competitive Senate races and one competitive House race. <\/p>\n