By Agency StaffRepublicans at their midterm convention know that history is not on their side this election season, but they are counting on President Donald Trump and his two-day extravaganza in Dallas to rally voters to protect their House and Senate majorities.They spent the first night denouncing Democrats as extremists before Trump capped Wednesday with a speech saying the choice this election is “very, very simple” and making the outlandish promise of $5,000 to each American adult if his party wins.Such a proposal could cost more than $1-trillion while the nation has a record $40-trillion debt and even some Republicans balked at the idea of tying direct payments to election results. Joe Lonsdale, a prominent donor and activist who supports much of what Trump has done in office, said on X that he is “strongly against bread and circus bribes”.Thursday’s lineup is expected to feature many of the same themes and includes a keynote from vice-president JD Vance and closing remarks from Trump.Republicans are trying to overcome voters’ concerns about the economy and the war with Iran, and many still see solidarity with Trump as their best shot at winning in November despite the president’s low approval ratings.“The midterms are not supposed to be won by the sitting president,” Trump acknowledged during a lengthy primetime speech.But he predicted this one will be “something very special” and encouraged voters to cast their ballots as if they were voting for him.“Pretend I’m on the ballot,” he said.A roster of Republican legislators, some of them the most electorally endangered in the country, took their turns on Wednesday to echo warnings that tax cuts and immigration enforcement are all at risk if Democrats win. Many others skipped the confab altogether, and the party is competing for attention with another American institution, the National Football League, which started its season this week.Democrats, holding their own events around the city, portrayed the Republicans as out of touch with voters’ concerns about high prices and the ethics of the Trump administration.“We want to ensure that people can actually live their lives, be able to work, have access to healthcare,” said representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, “and the president’s more interested in sending bizarre, deranged social media posts and having his party in Dallas”.The second night of the convention is expected to delve deeply into what House speaker Mike Johnson calls the “Contrast for America,” as Republicans showcase what they call their “Big Beautiful Bill” of tax breaks and spending cuts, and warn of a future if Democrats take control.The campaign slogan is a throwback to an earlier era, when another Republican leader, Newt Gingrich, offered a Contract with America. This time, rather than presenting a detailed list of priorities, Republicans are drawing a contrast with the Democrats, whom they contend are too far left and would focus on investigating the Trump administration.“This is what we’re talking about when we say common sense versus crazy communists,” said majority leader Steve Scalise, R-La, warning of impeachments ahead if Republicans stay home.“Are you going to let that happen?” he asked.Many in the crowd, filled with Maga gear and cowboy hats, roared back, “No!”Trump did mention a proposal to cut credit card swipe fees at the end of his speech, which neared the two-hour mark, but he offered few other details.Republicans have been quick to portray all Democrats as in line with their most liberal candidates, particularly a new generation, some backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Still, one Democrat, outlier senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, joined by video address, saying he would always reject extremes.Representative Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the House GOP whip, roused the crowd by angrily name-checking incumbent Democratic representative Ilhan Omar from Minneapolis and senate Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, with New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani, three of the nation’s most prominent Muslim politicians.“If you’re not happy here, then get the hell out,” he said.With the Republican majorities in the House and Senate both at risk, the president’s agenda for his final two years in office is also at stake. The margins in Congress are expected to be narrow, with a few seats in a shrunken map of competitive races determining the outcome.Presidents past have acknowledged their midterm losses — Barack Obama called his 2010 setbacks a “shellacking”, George W Bush labelled his a “thumping”.But Trump often refuses to accept defeat, including his false claims that he, rather than Joe Biden, won the 2020 election. One of the many people he pardoned for their actions in the January 6 2021 attack on the Capitol, former Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, appeared at the convention.Trump on Wednesday said that in this election, “all that matters is that we are united”.He predicted that “the great American majority is going to stand up and continue to Make America Great Again. And we will make our voices heard, perhaps like never before.”AP