MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Vance positions himself for 2028 as the Republican convention closes in Dallas

Vance focused his remarks on the Democratic Party, which he described as “the party of hate” and accused of holding the country in contempt

US Vice President J. D. Vance closed the Republican Party's first-ever midterm convention in Dallas on Thursday with a forty-minute speech that strengthened his standing as a contender for the 2028 presidential nomination, before an audience that chanted his name.

Vance focused his remarks on the Democratic Party, which he described as “the party of hate” and accused of holding the country in contempt. He said it is no longer the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy or Bill Clinton, and framed a Democratic vote in November as a threat to American prosperity. He defended birthright citizenship, the traditional family, a tough line on crime and changes to school curricula.

When an attendee interrupted to urge him to run as Donald Trump's successor, the vice president replied that they would worry about that later and that first they had to win in November. His main rival in internal polling, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was absent: he was wrapping up a tour of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Minutes earlier, security had removed a protester who tried to enter carrying Mexican and Palestinian flags. Vance addressed him from the stage: “Buddy, if you love Mexico so much, go to that country,” adding that the left had a new symbol.

The event was shaped by the pledge Trump made on the opening night on Wednesday: a payment of US$5,000 to every adult citizen, conditional on Republicans retaining control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in November's elections. “If the Republicans win, you win with us,” he said, calling it the “Trump dividend.”

The president did not specify how it would be funded. Vance later suggested it could be covered by tariff revenue, a mechanism Trump had already invoked when proposing US$2,000 checks. Estimates published by US media put the cost at around US$1.3 trillion for close to 270 million adults. Analysts and Democratic lawmakers have questioned its feasibility and legality, given that US law prohibits paying or being paid to influence voting.

Trump spoke again on Thursday, after Vance, in another forty-minute address in which he repeated arguments and promises from the previous day.

Over the two days, nineteen Republican candidates in competitive districts and states took the stage, along with former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Donald Trump Jr., Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton. Senator Ted Cruz attacked New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other Democratic figures, and said Islamic law has no place in the United States.

The program included a tribute to activist Charlie Kirk, assassinated a year ago, and a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.