The second night of the Republican midterm convention opened in Dallas on Thursday with Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters wielding his comically large gavel to kick off proceedings. The evening was framed by the one-year anniversary of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, a shadow that loomed over the gathering as Vice President JD Vance prepared to deliver the keynote address and former President Donald Trump signaled a shorter appearance than his nearly two-hour speech the previous night.
Convention Opens with Tribute to Charlie Kirk
Gruters marked the somber anniversary of Kirk’s death, noting the Turning Point USA founder was shot and killed while speaking at a campus event in Utah one year ago. “He [Kirk] believed in America, in freedom, in young people’s courage to stand up and fight for the country they love. He didn’t just join a movement; he built one,” Gruters said. “Let’s honor Charlie and let’s be more like Charlie Kirk.”
Trump, addressing the convention Wednesday night, had promised a briefer follow-up. “I’m going to be just sort of getting up here and saying, good luck. We love you all,” he said at the end of his nearly two-hour speech on Wednesday.
House Republicans Focus on Michigan Senate Race
Representative Lisa McClain, chair of the House Republican Conference, used her speaking slot to attack Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan. McClain accused El-Sayed of wanting to “release violent criminals back into your communities” and highlighted his campaign appearance with progressive streamer Hasan Piker. Piker apologized in 2019 for comments stating the U.S. “deserved” the September 11 terror attacks. “My mom has a saying: ‘You are who you hang with’,” McClain said, adding that the November elections are a choice “between common sense and communist crazy”.
Trump’s $5,000 Pledge Draws Skepticism, Bribery Accusations
In a CBS News interview during the convention, Trump claimed Congress would not need to approve the $5,000 payments he promised to U.S. adults if Republicans retain congressional control—a pledge carrying a price tag exceeding $1 trillion. “The country is doing so well, we’ve taken in trillions of dollars in tariffs and other things,” the president said, again inflating tariff revenue. Tariff revenue is deposited into the U.S. Treasury and allocated by Congress through legislation. Trump reiterated the money would need to be spent domestically but did not explain enforcement mechanisms.
The proposal triggered immediate backlash. Palantir founder and major GOP donor Joe Lonsdale posted on X that while he favors winning the midterms, he is “strongly against bread and circus bribes.” California Governor Gavin Newsom called the pledge “pathetic and sad,” elaborating: “Pathetic because it’s just bullshit. And sad that he has to go in front of people and bribe them. I mean, that’s how desperate he is to hold on to power. He knows his presidency is de facto over as we know it this November. He’s going to do everything he can to rig the election, and in the absence of that he wanted to buy everybody off.”
Former Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke dismissed the offer as “the stink of desperation.” Speaking at a Bloomberg News roundtable in Dallas, O’Rourke said: “I think people will take it for what it is: it’s a gimmick, it’s a bribe. It’s another promise that the president will be unable to fulfill. He’s promised these kinds of dividends before. I think we were supposed to get one from all of the money we were making off of tariffs. It’s never materialised.” He continued: “It adds to the stink of desperation. That is emanating from that convention centre and every action that we’ve seen over the last 12 months: gerrymandering five congressional districts, screwing with vote by mail, shutting down 92 polling places, more than a million Texans on the suspense list. This is a party that cannot compete on the power of its ideas or on its accomplishments while in office and so they’re trying to stop people literally from voting or bribe those who they think can be persuaded. I just don’t think that’s going to be effective.”
Vance and Trump Jr. Eulogize Kirk on Memorial Podcast
Earlier Thursday, Vance appeared on the Charlie Kirk Show’s memorial episode, calling Kirk an irreplaceable leader and close personal friend. “There’s no way to replace Charlie Kirk,” Vance said. Kirk was an early supporter of Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign and advocated for his 2024 vice-presidential selection. Since Kirk’s death, his widow Erika Kirk, who now leads Turning Point USA, has voiced support for Vance as a future presidential successor.
Donald Trump Jr. followed Vance on the podcast, recalling their 2015 meeting during his father’s first presidential run. “It was the beginning of a long friendship,” Trump Jr. said. “I think we spoke every day for 10 years,” he added later. The White House, top Republicans, and conservative world leaders issued statements commemorating the anniversary.
Trump Uses Medal of Honor Ceremony for Political Attacks
At the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas, Trump deviated from a bipartisan ceremony honoring 65 living recipients to attack Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, tout inflated investment figures, and criticize his own endorsed candidate, Attorney General Ken Paxton. Trump imagined a conversation with Paxton: “I’m not sure if I like your look. I’m not sure if I like the way you dress. I don’t like the way you talk. But you’re the greatest attorney general.” He dubbed Talarico “Talafreako” and claimed “close to $21tn” had been invested in the U.S. since his inauguration—a figure CNN fact-checkers labeled fictional.
Trump also expressed personal desire for the Medal of Honor. “What I really want is I want for myself the Congressional Medal of Honor,” said Trump, who received a Vietnam War draft exemption for bone spurs. “I would give it to myself; I have no problem, but I’m not allowed to.” He later clarified he was joking. The ceremony concluded with the Village People’s YMCA.
Missouri Supreme Court Upholds 2022 Congressional Maps
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to block a Missouri Supreme Court order restoring the state’s 2022 congressional district map, likely ending Republican efforts to use 2025 boundaries that could have secured an additional House seat. Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican who faced a contempt hearing over his resistance, ordered local election authorities to use the 2022 map. “Following the United States supreme court’s stay, the only governing court order in effect is from the Missouri supreme court,” Hoskins’ office stated. “In accordance with that order, my Office is directing local election authorities to use the 2022 congressional map.”
DHS Proposes Eliminating Visa Grace Period for Foreign Workers
The Department of Homeland Security published a formal proposal Thursday to remove the 60-day grace period allowing H-1B and other work-visa holders to seek new employment or adjust status after job loss. The Obama-era rule permitted workers and dependent family members to remain in the U.S. for 60 days post-employment. The new rule would require immediate departure upon termination.
Lawsuit Seeks to Block ICE from Polling Places
A coalition of voting and civil rights groups, joined by the city of Denver, filed a preemptive lawsuit Thursday to prevent the Trump administration from deploying armed ICE agents to polling sites in November. Citing a Civil War-era statute barring armed federal officers from voting locations, the suit argues: “The specter of armed officers at polling places threatens the freedom of this upcoming election. It places voters in fear that they will be confronted by armed federal law enforcement if they choose to cast a ballot.” Defendants include DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE Director David Venturella. While Mullin stated ICE is not there to patrol polls, he acknowledged agents could be present for site threats or warrant service.
Appeals Court Upholds Block on Mail-Voting Restrictions
The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston rejected the administration’s bid to lift a lower court injunction blocking Trump’s executive order imposing sweeping new federal authorities over mail-in voting. The three-judge panel declined to stay the injunction as the Supreme Court considers the case, with states already mailing ballots for the midterms.
FCC Pressure Forces Kimmel to Move Talarico Interview to YouTube
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel announced Wednesday that an interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico would not air on ABC but on YouTube, citing FCC equal-time rule enforcement. “Now that [Trump] is president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional editorial decisions,” Kimmel said. “In the America we live in right now, that is the best we can do, until November, of course,” he added. Talarico faces Republican Ken Paxton, a Trump endorsee, in a tight Senate race.
Talarico Accuses Paxton of Ignoring Epstein Survivors
At a Dallas press conference alongside Epstein survivors Annie Farmer and Sharlene Rochard, Talarico demanded accountability. “When did pedophilia become a partisan issue? When did holding sexual abusers accountable become controversial?” Talarico said. He alleged survivors requested meetings with Paxton, who refused. “Our attorney general here in Texas has the power to get justice for these survivors, and he’s refusing to do so,” Talarico said. “Ken Paxton has two choices: he can stand with these survivors and get justice, or he can continue to cover up Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. The choice is entirely his.”
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa visited the same DOJ Epstein files exhibit Wednesday. “It’s really incredible that we live in a country where the justice system is so broken at every level that there has not been accountability of what we know was extensive sexual abuse, exploitation that happened for decades,” Hinojosa said, according to the Associated Press. “And that powerful people who run this country are still living their lives without having been held to account.”
O’Rourke Rules Out 2028 Run, Assesses Democratic Field
Beto O’Rourke confirmed he will not seek the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination but offered assessments of potential contenders. “There’s obvious people: Gavin Newsom’s been running for the last 20 years for the presidency in 2028,” O’Rourke told Bloomberg. “I’ve been watching some of what Pete Buttigieg has been doing: he’s so freaking intelligent and amazing and connecting with people and answering questions on Fox News. JB Pritzker was just here: he certainly seems to be running.” He cited his 19-year-old son’s excitement about Senator Jon Ossoff as a barometer. “My son is 19 years old and has grown up around politics and therefore doesn’t like it and doesn’t really engage, but to get a text from him, ‘Hey dad, do you know this Jon Ossoff guy? I just saw one of his speeches.’ To see him get excited: if you’re a parent and your kid gets excited about something, it means something. I think that’s awesome,” he said.
On Vice President Kamala Harris: “In the same way that some of these folks are obvious in their intentions, I can’t really tell what Kamala [Harris] is doing or wants to do. I think she’s amazing. I think that’s a decision for her to make. But I do think 2028 primary election voters are going to be watching what the contenders did in 2026 when everything was on the line, so I think every one of those people we just talked about, they’re being measured from the future right now by what they’re doing at this moment.” Asked what he sees in the mirror, O’Rourke quipped: “I see someone who’s so glad that they got it out of their system.”
Protests and Competitive Races Mark Convention Exterior
Outside the American Airlines Arena, protesters marched against the administration’s immigration policies, highlighting individuals killed by federal agents during enforcement actions in Minnesota. Inside, Pennsylvania Representative Ryan Mackenzie, fighting a competitive re-election in the Lehigh Valley district, avoided controversial administration policies to focus on tax relief, border security, and attacking Democratic opponent Bob Brooks. “When we hear about the decision between common sense and crazy, it’s not rhetoric. It’s not a slogan. You need to think about the real effects that it has in a district like mine in Pennsylvania and all across the country,” Mackenzie said. The Cook Political Report rates Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District among the nation’s most competitive House races.
