The remarks came as Trump used his keynote address to make a broader pitch for Republican candidates and his administration’s recordUS President Donald Trump turned the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention into a sweeping campaign pitch on Wednesday, urging voters to back the GOP in 2026 and promising a $5,000 payment to every adult American if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress.Trump made the pledge during his keynote address at the two-day convention in Dallas, where he repeatedly cast the midterm elections as a referendum on his presidency. He urged supporters to pretend he was on the ballot and said there were about 35 key Senate and House races that Republicans needed to win.“If we hand America's future to the radical-left Democrats, our nation will spend the next decade just getting back on its feet,” Trump said. “Vote Republican and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come.”Trump said he would visit the key states, potentially multiple times, and promised, “We’re gonna have rallies just like this.”His most striking domestic promise came when he said Republicans would issue a direct payment to voters if they hold the Senate and House.“If 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.”Trump said the money would have to be spent in the US and dubbed it the “Trump dividend”. The proposal could cost at least $1 trillion, but he offered no details on how it would be funded or implemented.The president also used the convention to defend his handling of the war in Iran, acknowledging that the conflict had affected the US economy. Trump said Iran had been “two, maybe three weeks away from having a nuclear weapon” when he decided to act.Oil prices have risen amid the conflict, while an AP-NORC poll in July found about two-thirds of US adults believed the war had not been worthwhile. Trump nevertheless defended the decision and also insisted that the economic disruption caused by his sweeping tariffs would ultimately prove worthwhile.Trump sought to present the broader US economy as successful despite concerns over affordability.“This has been the most successful two years financially and every other way in the history of the presidency,” he said, pointing to what he described as more than $20 trillion in foreign investment.In one of the speech's more unusual moments, Trump suggested renaming the strategic waterway separating Iran and Oman after himself.“I think we should call the Hormuz Strait the Trump Strait. I should get something out of it. The Trump Strait.”He also floated other renamings, saying, “Lake Ontario, we're going to call that now Lake America...” and suggesting neighbouring New Mexico could be called “New America”.Trump also promoted Republican candidates, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, despite acknowledging his appearance and speaking style.“He may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I've ever seen,” Trump said, before adding that Paxton “deserves to be your next senator.”