Donald Trump closed out the unusual Republican midterm convention by telling his supporters that they needed to vote — or face the consequence of going to hell. Before that statement, he requested that attendees take a pledge, adding another bizarre layer to the already-strange situation.

“So, help me god. You know what happens if you don’t vote? You go to hell, you know that. OK? You go to hell. I don’t want that to happen to you, so please go and vote.,” Trump said. “Together, we will defeat the Communists.”

As for pledge, the president said, “So, please raise your right hand: I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States.” The audience echoed the sentiment and Trump finished, “I’m going to try and cheat like hell like they do.”

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Trump: So Please raise your right hand: I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States

Crowd: I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States…

Trump: I’m going to try and cheat like hell like they do. pic.twitter.com/umehtVKUr7— Acyn (@Acyn) September 11, 2026

After having his supporters take pledge to vote, he tells them that if they don’t vote, they will go to hell. pic.twitter.com/0gvqL5HgpX— Acyn (@Acyn) September 11, 2026

Trump closed out the convention on that note, but not before making headlines across both nights.

On Wednesday, Trump made a bold pledge to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans hold onto both the House and Senate in the midterm elections — a dramatic move aimed at reversing his party’s declining poll numbers heading into November.

The questionable promise would likely exceed $1 trillion in cost, require congressional approval, and would only deepen the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit while stoking further inflation concerns.

“If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000,” Trump declared at the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas. “It will be called the Trump Dividend.”

He compared the payments to a corporation distributing dividends to its shareholders, pointing to “our tremendous strength and success economically.”

Vance U-turns on Trump’s promise

Within an hour, Vice President JD Vance appeared to partially walk back Trump’s proposal by indicating the dividend payments would not be directed toward wealthier Americans. Vance floated the idea of funding it through U.S. tariff revenues, though the proposed payout vastly outstrips what the country has collected through those protectionist trade measures.

The White House did not respond to a request for further details

Trump’s $5,000 adult-citizen “dividend” would cost taxpayers an estimated $1.23 trillion.

Any such payment would require Congressional approval. The total sum would far surpass U.S. tariff revenues, even before the Supreme Court struck down much of the president’s tariff program last year.

The national debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time last month.

Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration that, in recent history, the president’s party almost always loses Congressional seats during midterm elections, and he has been searching for unconventional ways to buck that trend, including through this week’s convention.

“We’re going to change that,” Trump said. “There’s no reason for it.”

Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a Washington-based think tank, stated that Trump lacks the authority to distribute money to Americans without Congressional approval. Goldwein noted that dividends are typically distributed by companies when they have excess funds, yet the U.S. is currently facing $2 trillion yearly deficits and carrying $40 trillion in debt

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