President Trump attended a 9/11 memorial service at the Pentagon on Friday after speaking at a two-night Republican gathering in Dallas. The convention was a pep rally for the midterms, and the president used it to remind Republicans that he is the reason they should show up to vote.
Dallas Convention and Hell Warning
Trump delivered closing remarks in Dallas Thursday at what was billed as a Republican midterm convention. He also spoke on the first night of the two-night event. NPR’s Ron Elving described it as a party pep rally, not a traditional convention with delegate business and policy platforms.
The event was about electing Republicans to state and local offices in November. But Elving said the focus was less on those candidates than on Trump himself, who is not on the ballot in November.
“The theory is that certain Republicans don’t turn out when Trump isn’t on the ballot,” Elving said. “So the big to-do in Dallas was meant to persuade those folks that Trump is on the ballot and they have skin in the game.”
Trump made that point directly during his speech. He told the crowd that failing to vote would send them to hell.
“You know what happens if you don’t vote? You go to hell,” Trump said. “You know that… And I don’t want that to happen to you, so please go and vote.”
Elving noted that the remark was likely just Trump being over the top in the moment. Sending people to hell would seem to require an even greater expansion in presidential authority than anything we’ve seen yet.
Fox News Exchange on Payments
A prominent Fox News host asked Trump about a proposal to send $5,000 payments to Americans if Republicans hold onto the House and Senate in November. The exchange drew attention for the back-and-forth.
Laura Ingraham asked Trump whether he was buying the election by promising to give money to voters. Trump denied the plan, citing “negative growth” from Democrats.
The exchange was notable for the back-and-forth, with Ingraham pressing Trump on whether he had the money to make the payments now.
Fox is often considered friendly territory for the president. But Elving said the network also conducts and publishes respected polls, and it has people who can ask questions voters are asking.
“It’s amazing to think our government doesn’t even want to be allies with anyone it seems anymore, not even Canada,” Elving said. “And that’s not to mention the post-9/11 domestic policies – the scapegoating and the secret surveillance and the denial of rights.”
Pentagon Service Marks Anniversary
Trump marked 25 years since the 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon on Friday. Vice President Vance was at the New York ceremony with living ex-presidents and first ladies.
Elving connected the anniversary to the present. He pointed to the fear and panic Americans felt on 9/11 and the divisive politics since.
“9/11 brought Americans closer together in that moment, brought the civilized world closer to Americans,” Elving said. “But the policies that were pursued after 9/11 – of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and now against Iran – these overseas adventures have not assured our safety.”
He also criticized the administration’s embrace of tariffs and its attitude of being against the world.
NPR’s Question Without an Answer
When our colleague Steve Inskeep asked NPR political correspondent Stephen Fowler how Trump’s idea to pay taxpayers their own money would work, the answer was simple: it wouldn’t.
“That is a good way to bet,” Elving said.
The question of how the payments would be funded was left open.
What Comes Next
The midterms are in November. Trump is not on the ballot. But the Dallas convention and the Pentagon speech were designed to keep Republicans engaged.
The $5,000 payment idea remains a talking point, not a plan with details. The Fox exchange showed that even friendly networks have trouble making sense of it.
The 9/11 anniversary was a solemn moment. But Elving used it to draw a line from that day to the present state of American politics.
“9/11 was a monstrous tragedy, but it also could have been a historic wake-up call and a great unifying force for America and the world, like Pearl Harbor was before World War II,” Elving said. “For a time, it seemed it might be, but that time was long ago.”
The convention in Dallas was a reminder that Trump’s grip on the party depends on keeping his supporters energized.
- Trump speaks at two-night Republican midterm convention in Dallas.
- He promises voters who don’t vote will “go to hell.”
- Fox News host Laura Ingraham asks about $5,000 payments to buy the election.
- Trump denies the plan, citing “negative growth” from Democrats.
- VP Vance attends New York 9/11 ceremony with ex-presidents and first ladies.
The week was a mix of spectacle and substance. The spectacle drew attention.
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