DALLAS, United States – United States President Donald Trump capped off the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, by leading thousands of attendees through an improvised loyalty oath in which he instructed supporters to vote in the upcoming November elections regardless of whether they are legally registered, telling the crowd he intends to “cheat like hell,” political correspondents confirmed on Friday, September 11, 2026.
The controversial remarks occurred late Thursday night during the keynote finale of the two-day gathering, when Trump instructed the audience to raise their right hands and repeat a pledge dedicating their electoral efforts to the “greatest president in the history of the United States,” using the ceremonial platform to make unevidenced assertions regarding systemic electoral malpractice by political opponents.
Okay News reports that with his right hand elevated at the podium, Trump directed the hall of party delegates, federal lawmakers, and grassroots activists to echo his words verbatim, stating: “I don’t care if I’m registered or not, I’m going to try to cheat like hell like they do.”
The explicit reference to cheating drew laughter and cheers from the convention floor before the president launched into an unsubstantiated broadside against the Democratic Party, asserting to the arena that “there has never been bigger cheaters” in national politics, before concluding the recitation by having the crowd swear to turn out in November followed by the phrase, “So help me God.”
Trump quipped that while attendees technically possess the constitutional freedom to vote for Democratic candidates, he doubted a single individual inside the convention hall would break ranks, declaring that any ballot cast by his supporters must go exclusively to Republican nominees on the ticket.
The demand for personal loyalty comes as the White House attempts to galvanize conservative voter turnout ahead of high-stakes congressional elections that will determine legislative control of Capitol Hill, with Trump explicitly imploring the Republican base to view the midterms as a direct referendum on his second term.
“You gotta do me the biggest favor: pretend I’m on the ticket. I’m on the ticket,” Trump told the delegates, stressing that the impending vote represents one of the most critical electoral contests in modern American history.
The president’s strategic calculation to place his personal brand at the center of the midterm campaigns arrives amid headwinds in public opinion, with recent nationwide polling showing his approval rating declining to a low of 36 percent amid voter anxiety over inflation and governance disputes.
During his closing appearance, Trump also doubled down on a dramatic fiscal pledge first unveiled on the opening night of the convention, promising that the federal government will disburse $5,000 “dividend” checks to every American adult if the Republican Party secures majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in November.
The multi-billion-dollar cash proposal, which fiscal analysts estimate could carry an aggregate budgetary cost exceeding $1 trillion, received no mention from other prominent convention headliners, including Vice President JD Vance, who delivered a hard-hitting ideological address earlier in the evening.
While Trump offered minimal technical specifics on the statutory appropriations or revenue mechanisms required to finance the universal dividend payments, the proposal has emerged alongside his controversial voting pledge as central talking points defining the final stretch of the midterm campaign season.
