Trump seeks a miracle in Dallas and promises a 5,000 dollar check if the Republicans win the midterms
The president, drowned by unpopularity, turns the legislative elections into a personal referendum
WashingtonDonald Trump has wanted to return to the 2024 election campaign, but time, as the poet said, takes its toll. Lee Greenwood singing "God Bless the USA". The attacks on former president Joe Biden. Even the same slogans. The American president's intervention this Thursday at dawn at the American Airlines Center in Dallas was a succession of echoes of that convention in Milwaukee, where he was consecrated as a mystical figure after surviving the attack in which a bullet grazed his ear. At a historic peak of unpopularity, Trump has entrusted himself to that blind faith that catapulted him to power two years ago and has tied his fate to that of the Republican candidates who are fighting for their seats this November.
"I ask you to pretend that I am on the ballot when you vote," said the president to a stadium that, far from being packed to the rafters like two years ago, was dotted with empty seats. The statement has surely fallen like a slab on the heads of many congressmen who, during the two days the convention is being held have already sought other tasks to avoid catching their leader's unpopularity. At 25,000 dollars a ticket, the loyalty test was extreme even for a legislator's salary. Especially after more than half a year of war in Iran. A military campaign that the leader has defended again -"We had no choice"- and about which he joked that he will rename the Strait of Hormuz as "the Trump Strait".
But if mysticism does not work the miracle, Trump also has a more earthly incentive to finish convincing the undecided: 5,000 dollars. Looking into the eyes of citizens who lose purchasing power every day, the president has assured that he will send 5,000 dollars to every citizen if the Republicans maintain control of both houses of Congress. "So, if the Republicans win, you win with us... It will be called the Trump dividend," the president stated. The leader has gone from promising abundance and prosperity in 2024, to now offering an economic band-aid. Where he will obtain the more than 1.35 trillion dollars that it is estimated to cost, or how he will be able to implement it, is unknown.
The announcement is also a sad echo of a tactic from which Trump probably took note in 2024. Billionaire Elon Musk, then turned into the main champion of Trumpism, raffled off one million dollars among registered voters to mobilize the conservative electorate.
Trump in a dilemma similar to Harris's
Perhaps without being entirely aware of it, Trump has found himself repeating the same campaign slogans that both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris used against him. Back then, when the Democrats were in power and seeking reelection, the motto was "if you don't vote for us, Trump will come." Now, the Republican is singing the same tune from the other side of the ring and points to the supposed "communist" threat: "If we lose, you will lose the border, you will lose the tax cuts, you will lose your security and protection, you will lose your wealth." The American president is no longer promising the "golden age" of the USA. He hasn't even mentioned this idea with which he took office in 2025 and with which he promoted his candidacy in 2024.
One of Harris's great mistakes in 2024 was the inability to promise voters real change. The Vice President had the challenge of demonstrating that, despite being in power, her presidency could make a difference from the Biden administration. Now, Trump has wanted to put himself in the same dilemma when he had no need to do so in midterm elections and when, in fact, some congressmen had hoped he wouldn't.
In 2024, Americans were unhappy with Biden because the country's good macroeconomic data did not translate to their households, and they decided to trust Trump's promise that he would lower the cost of living. The Republican is governing, but gasoline and food are rising. A gallon of gasoline (about 3.7 liters) already exceeds $4.22 on average, and a pound of ground beef (about 453 grams) already costs about $6.98. In October of last year, it had already risen to $6.23. The solution the tycoon offers to this problem is to seize part of the Venezuelan oil reserves that are still to be exploited and import tons of foreign meat exempt from tariffs. A decision that has further punished his rural bases, already suffocated by the trade war and ICE raids in the countryside.
Texas, a border and rural state par excellence, became a Republican bastion in 2024. In part, this was the reason why months ago the president decided to hold this "historic" convention in Dallas and demonstrate his strength. But the script that the Republican had already written is not what is happening. Two months before the elections, a young Presbyterian pastor has managed to compete in the race for the Senate. Democrat James Talarico has become a real threat to the Republican candidate, Ken Paxton, who only convinces the president. In a state where Trump has managed to make "Texan" and "Democrat" almost an oxymoron, the young chaplain has called this premise into question. For this reason, Trump has once again defended his bet on Paxton tonight: "We must get him elected; if necessary, I will return to Texas one, two, three times... as many as needed!".
Trump wants to believe that he retains the charisma that returned him to the White House in 2024. This early morning he has shown that if necessary, he can put 5,000 dollars on the table for American households. Just in case, in the end, it turns out that time has indeed taken its toll.