JD Vance to address Republican midterm convention after Trump’s $5,000 offer sparks bribery claims – live

On stage now is Lisa McClain, House Republican conference chair and representative from Michigan.

McClain is using her time to repeat many of the same fear-mongering talking points about the upcoming midterms that we heard on night one. She’s particularly focused on slamming the Democratic nominee for the US Senate in her state, Abdul El-Sayed, who she says wants to “release violent criminals back into your communities”.

McClain also zeroed in on El-Sayed campaigning with Hasan Piker, the progressive Twitch streamer, during Michigan’s Democratic primary, where El-Sayed was forced to answer for Piker’s past comments on Israel and September 11. In 2019, as part of a broader critique of American foreign policy, Piker said the US “deserved” the terror attacks. However, he later apologised for the remark.

“My mom has a saying: ‘You are who you hang with’,” McClain said, adding that the November elections are a choice “between common sense and communist crazy”.

In an interview with CBS News on the second night of the GOP midterm convention, Donald Trump said that he doesn’t think that Congress would need to approve the $5,000 checks that he wants to cut should Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in November.

A reminder that this pledge comes with a price tag that is well over $1tn.

“The country is doing so well, we’ve taken in trillions of dollars in tariffs and other things,” the president said, again inflating the revenue generated from the duties he’s implemented. What’s more, any money generated from tariffs is deposited to the US treasury, and then allocated by Congress through legislation.

Trump repeated to CBS News that the money given to US citizens would need to be spent in the US, but didn’t explain how that would be tracked.

Joe Lonsdale, the founder of Palantir and major GOP donor, has pushed back against Donald Trump’s pledge to offer $5,000 to US citizens if Republicans win the midterm elections in November.

Lonsdale said that while he is “in favor of winning the midterms, and love much about this admin”, he is “strongly against bread and circus bribes” in a post on X.

Ryan Mackenzie, the Republican congressman running in a competitive re-election race for a Pennsylvania district he flipped red in 2024, took the stage at the American Airlines arena today.

Mackenzie avoided speaking about any contentious Trump administration policies, and instead focused on tax relief, border security and slamming Bob Brooks, a union leader and Mackenzie’s progressive opponent in his November contest.

“When we hear about the decision between common sense and crazy, it’s not rhetoric. It’s not a slogan. You need to think about the real effects that it has in a district like mine in Pennsylvania and all across the country,” Mackenzie added.

The fight for Pennsylvania’s seventh congressional seat –which encompasses the Lehigh valley – is one of the most competitive House races in the country, according to the Cook Political Report.

We’re getting more pictures of protests in the streets of Dallas on the second night of the GOP midterm convention.

There are several signs against the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. In particular, those killed by federal agents during Donald Trump’s crackdown in Minnesota.

Reporting from Dallas

It was a simple enough assignment. Donald Trump attended the National Medal of Honor museum on Thursday for an event where he was supposed to give an address that would celebrate medal recipients, then sign a bipartisan bill that would lead to a monument being installed on the National Mall.

Instead, the US president used his speech to attack James Talarico, the Texas Democratic candidate for Senate; to list fantasy figures about foreign investment in the US; and to muse about how Washington DC is cleaner than it used to be.

Trump, who seemed drained after his address at the Republican midterm convention on Wednesday night, also used the supposedly politically neutral event to once again tear into the appearance of Ken Paxton, his handpicked candidate for Senate.

“I’m not sure if I like your look. I’m not sure if I like the way you dress. I don’t like the way you talk,” Trump said, imagining a conversation between himself and Paxton in a rerun of criticism he had used a day earlier. “But you’re the greatest attorney general.”

Trump went on to dub Talarico “Talafreako”, and to hail the self-stated success of his tariffs. He also claimed that “close to $21tn” had been invested in the US since he became president, something CNN factcheck described as a “fictional economic figure”.

There are 65 living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, which is awarded to military service members “who distinguish themselves through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty”.

Trump suggested there should be 66.

“What I really want is I want for myself the Congressional Medal of Honor,” said Trump, who famously was exempted from the draft for the Vietnam war after a doctor diagnosed him with bone spurs. “I would give it to myself; I have no problem, but I’m not allowed to.”

Trump later clarified that he was joking. The ceremony, honoring what Trump said was an “incredible” level of bravery, was brought to a close by the blasting of the song YMCA by the Village People, who, to be fair, did have a (pretend) soldier, Alex Briley, in their original lineup.

Reporting from Dallas

Beto O’Rourke, a former Texas congressman and Democratic presidential candidate, has ruled out another bid for the White House in 2028. But he has thoughts on who might run.

“There’s obvious people: Gavin Newsom’s been running for the last 20 years for the presidency in 2028,” O’Rourke, 53, told a roundtable hosted by Bloomberg News in Dallas on Thursday. “I’ve been watching some of what Pete Buttigieg has been doing: he’s so freaking intelligent and amazing and connecting with people and answering questions on Fox News. JB Pritzker was just here: he certainly seems to be running.

“My son is 19 years old and has grown up around politics and therefore doesn’t like it and doesn’t really engage, but to get a text from him, ‘Hey dad, do you know this Jon Ossoff guy? I just saw one of his speeches.’ To see him get excited: if you’re a parent and your kid gets excited about something, it means something. I think that’s awesome,” he said.

O’Rourke added: “In the same way that some of these folks are obvious in their intentions, I can’t really tell what Kamala [Harris] is doing or wants to do. I think she’s amazing. I think that’s a decision for her to make. But I do think 2028 primary election voters are going to be watching what the contenders did in 2026 when everything was on the line, so I think every one of those people we just talked about, they’re being measured from the future right now by what they’re doing at this moment.”

There is an old saying that every senator looks in the mirror and sees a president. What does O’Rourke see now? “I see someone who’s so glad that they got it out of their system,” he quipped.

Back with his comically large gavel, Joe Gruters – the Republican National Committee chair – kicked off the second night of the GOP midterm convention.

Gruters noted that today is the one year anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s death – the conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder who was shot and killed while speaking at a campus event in Utah.

“He [Kirk] believed in America, in freedom, in young people’s courage to stand up and fight for the country they love. He didn’t just join a movement; he built one,” Gruters said. “Let’s honor Charlie and let’s be more like Charlie Kirk.”

Later today, we’ll also hear from vice-president JD Vance, who’ll deliver the keynote address. Donald Trump will also speak again, but assured last night’s audience in Dallas that he doesn’t plan to speak for that long.

“I’m going to be just sort of getting up here and saying, good luck. We love you all,” he said at the end of his nearly two-hour speech on Wednesday.

Gavin Newsom has called Donald Trump’s $5,000 incentive to US adults if Republicans retain control of Congress “pathetic and sad”, while speaking to reporters in California today.

The former governor added: “Pathetic because it’s just bullshit. And sad that he has to go in front of people and bribe them. I mean, that’s how desperate he is to hold on to power. He knows his presidency is de facto over as we know it this November. He’s going to do everything he can to rig the election, and in the absence of that he wanted to buy everybody off.”

• The supreme court appeared to end the legal turmoil around Missouri’s congressional map. After a protracted legal battle that has thrown the state’s elections into chaos, the supreme court ruled for a second time in favor of a Missouri court’s order to restore the state’s 2022 congressional district map. The decision likely kills Missouri Republicans’ efforts to use the new district boundaries they drew in 2025, which could’ve secured them an extra House seat in the state. The Missouri secretary of state, himself facing a contempt hearing over his alleged intransigence in restoring the old maps, officially ordered local elections officials to use the 2022 maps.

• Donald Trump’s pledge to give Americans $5,000 each if Republicans win the midterms is met with skepticism and bribery allegations. On Wednesday night, the US president promised to send Americans $5,000 payments if Republicans won out in the midterms. But not long after Trump made the promise, his vice-president was already hedging on it, and other Republicans expressed similar unease. Meanwhile, some Democrats, like Beto O’Rourke, lambasted the proposal as outright bribery.

• Conservatives marked the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr, both friends and allies of the conservative activist, appeared on his flagship podcast for a memorial show, as Thursday marked one year since Kirk was killed during an event at a Utah university. The White House, top US Republicans and conservative heads of state also put out statements honoring Kirk.

• An appeals court rejected Trump’s restrictions on voting by mail. A panel of judges at the first US circuit court of appeals in Boston declined to lift a block against the restrictions Trump outlined in an executive order, which granted the federal government sweeping new authorities over mail-in voting.

• Top advisors to Trump warn the war in Iran could endure longer than his term. The Wall Street Journal reported that, behind closed doors, top members of Trump’s cabinet have been warning him that Iran could potentially hold out against US pressure for longer than he’ll remain in office. That report undercuts Trump’s public stance, which is that Iran will cave as soon as the midterm elections are over (so long as Republicans win).

Missouri’s top elections official on Thursday ordered local authorities to use the state’s older congressional district map for the midterm election, after a supreme court ruling today blocked the reinstatement of a newer, Republican-favored map.

Denny Hoskins, Missouri’s Republican secretary of state, had been fighting in the courts to keep the newer maps. But his office issued a statement on Thursday confirming that Missouri is now set to use its congressional district map from 2022 heading into the November elections.

Previously, the Missouri state supreme court had ruled that the newer set of maps, drawn by Missouri Republicans in 2025, couldn’t be used for the 2026 election, and ordered the state to restore its 2022 congressional district boundaries. The supreme court shot down an appeal of that decision last week.

A federal judge’s conflicting ruling in another case to restore the GOP-backed maps sent the matter back to the supreme court. The high court again sided against Missouri Republicans.

“Following the United States supreme court’s stay, the only governing court order in effect is from the Missouri supreme court,” Hoskins’ office said in a statement. “In accordance with that order, my Office is directing local election authorities to use the 2022 congressional map.”

The Republican-favored map drawn in 2025 came as part of a nationwide Republican redistricting push backed by Donald Trump. The new boundaries would’ve carved up a Kansas City-area district held by Democrats, likely winning Missouri Republicans an additional seat in the House of Representatives.

Earlier on Thursday, Hoskins appeared before the Missouri Supreme Court in a contempt hearing over his failure to immediately enact the court’s order to restore the 2022 maps.

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday published a formal proposal to eliminate a visa grace period for foreign workers who lose their jobs.

Under rules established by the Obama administration, foreign workers with certain work-related visas – including the common H-1B visa category – had a 60-day window after losing their job before having to leave the country. During that time, workers could seek new employment or pursue other changes to their immigration status.

The new rule published Wednesday would remove that grace period and require workers, as well as any family members dependent on their visa status, to leave the US immediately after their employment ends.

An alliance of advocacy groups and a Democratic-led city on Thursday filed a preemptive lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from deploying armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to polling sites ahead of November’s midterm elections.

The lawsuit cites a statute dating back to the civil war that forbids armed federal officers from approaching voting sites.

“The specter of armed officers at polling places threatens the freedom of this upcoming election,” the lawsuit read. “It places voters in fear that they will be confronted by armed federal law enforcement if they choose to cast a ballot.”

The lawsuit specifically named the Department of Homeland Security and ICE as defendants, as well as their respective leaders, Markwayne Mullin and David Venturella.

It was filed by the liberal-leaning legal group Democracy Forward, on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens, Common Cause, UnidosUS and the city of Denver.

Despite Mullin saying that “ICE isn’t there to patrol the polling places,” he added that they could be present if there is a threat to the site or if agents are serving a warrant to someone present.

Trump administration officials have denied concrete plans for such deployments, while simultaneously not ruling out the presence of agents at polling sites under some circumstances, such as those shared by Mullin.

A US appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s bid to impose sweeping restrictions on mail-in voting, dealing a fresh blow to the president’s attempted crackdown.

The Boston-based first US circuit court of appeals three-judge panel declined to ⁠put on hold an ⁠injunction issued by a ​lower court judge last week, preventing the US Postal Service from tightening rules around postal voting.

The decision comes as the supreme court considers the same case and states have already started sending out ballots for the high-stakes midterm elections.

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “threatened” the show and that an interview with James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, will not air on television but on YouTube.

The FCC has been enforcing equal time rules for political candidates, which traditionally didn’t apply to talk shows.

In Kimmel’s Wednesday night broadcast, he suggested Trump’s presidency influenced this change.

“Now that [Trump] is president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional editorial decisions,” Kimmel said.

“In the America we live in right now, that is the best we can do, until November, of course,” Kimmel added regarding the decision.

Talarico, a Texas state representative, is locked in a tight Senate race against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who’s gotten an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

Vance was followed on the Charlie Kirk Podcast’s memorial show by Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son. Trump Jr. recalled how he first met Kirk in 2015 during his father’s first run for president.

“It was the beginning of a long friendship,” Trump Jr. said.

“I think we spoke every day for 10 years,” he added later.

Elsewhere, conservative leaders in the United States and around the world have issued statements commemorating the one year anniversary of Kirk’s assassination. The White House posted a tribute video to social media, and Trump honored the anniversary of Kirk’s death during his address to the GOP midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday night.

James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Texas, has accused his rival Ken Paxton of “ignoring” survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse, as Democrats seek to increase pressure on Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.

Speaking in Dallas, where Republicans are holding a midterm convention this week, Talarico appeared alongside one of Epstein’s victims at an exhibit which featured about three million pages of Department of Justice files related to Epstein.

“When did pedophilia become a partisan issue? When did holding sexual abusers accountable become controversial?” Talarico said. He said survivors of Epstein’s abuse had requested to meet with Paxton, the Texas attorney general, but he had refused.

“Our attorney general here in Texas has the power to get justice for these survivors, and he’s refusing to do so,” Talarico said.

He added: “Ken Paxton has two choices: he can stand with these survivors and get justice, or he can continue to cover up Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. The choice is entirely his.”

On Wednesday Gina Hinojosa, the Democrat running against Texas Governor Greg Abbott, visited the same exhibit and met with Epstein’s victims, in a sign Democrats plan to highlight Trump’s relationship with the convicted sex offender.

“It’s really incredible that we live in a country where the justice system is so broken at every level that there has not been accountability of what we know was extensive sexual abuse, exploitation that happened for decades,” Hinojosa said, according to Associated press. “And that powerful people who run this country are still living their lives without having been held to account.”

JD Vance is currently speaking on the Charlie Kirk Show as today marks the one year anniversary of Kirk’s assassination during an event at a university in Utah.

A year removed from Kirk’s killing, Vance eulogized him on his former flagship podcast as an irreplaceable leader of the conservative movement and as a close personal friend and ally.

“There’s no way to replace Charlie Kirk,” Vance said.

Kirk was an early supporter of Vance during his 2022 run for Senate in Ohio, and later advocated for his selection as Trump’s running mate in 2024. Since his death, Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, who has taken over running her late husband’s political organization, Turning Point USA, has voiced support for Vance to succeed Trump as president.

Beto O’Rourke, a former US congressman and presidential candidate, has dismissed Donald Trump’s offer of $5,000 to US citizens if Republicans win Congress as “the stink of desperation.”

“I think people will take it for what it is: it’s a gimmick, it’s a bribe,” O’Rourke said on Thursday at a roundtable hosted by Bloomberg News in Dallas. “It’s another promise that the president will be unable to fulfill. He’s promised these kinds of dividends before. I think we were supposed to get one from all of the money we were making off of tariffs. It’s never materialised.”

O’Rourke, founder of Powered by People, a Texas-based progressive organisation focused on turning out voters, continued: “It adds to the stink of desperation. That is emanating from that convention centre and every action that we’ve seen over the last 12 months: gerrymandering five congressional districts, screwing with vote by mail, shutting down 92 polling places, more than a million Texans on the suspense list.

“This is a party that cannot compete on the power of its ideas or on its accomplishments while in office and so they’re trying to stop people literally from voting or bribe those who they think can be persuaded. I just don’t think that’s going to be effective.”

O’Rourke, who lost a Texas Senate race to Ted Cruz in 2018, struck an optimistic note about Democrat James Talarico’s chances against Republican Ken Paxton. He suggested that Trump is even more unpopular now than he was then and that Talarico will be boosted by Democrats competing in every down ballot election this time.

“If you had to dream up the perfect opponent in the Senate race, if you’re a Democrat, you could not do better than Ken Paxton. Zero charisma, no connection, no money. The president is openly mocking him at every single turn. Those are all totally different from what we saw in 2018.”