USA · updated 1h ago · 4 min read
John Fetterman Introduces Dave McCormick at Dallas Republican Convention, Says He Will Work With Trump
Fetterman praises Trump and McCormick at Republican convention in Dallas. Fetterman's appearance signals growing distance from his own party.
Whether the pledge is creepy coercion.
5 of 6 outlets skipped it: cruz invoked racist tropes and audience called for shooting opponents.
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HuffPost UK
“Trump has been compared to a cult leader after he made his supporters publicly pledge to vote Republican.”Read the original ↗
HuffPost UK calls the pledge cult-like. The Atlantic treats it as a nervous rally tactic and explains the cheating riff as a detour.
RNC Video Breaks Ranks
At the Republican convention in Dallas, Texas on September 9 and 10, Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, appeared in a video introducing Pennsylvania Republican Senator Dave McCormick to attendees and said, "Yes, I’m a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I’m a common-sense Democrat," while also saying he would work with McCormick and Trump to "defend the life of the steel industry" in Pennsylvania.
“"Yes, I’m a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I’m a common-sense Democrat"”
The Hill reported that Representative Madeleine Dean called the appearance "deeply disappointing," and it also said Fetterman had begun fundraising by leveraging the video itself.
The Hill further reported that Fetterman confirmed Wednesday that he still plans to caucus with Democrats in the Senate, saying, "I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party—and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on," while Univision described the video as another sign of growing distance between Fetterman and his own party.
Univision said the video was shot from the roof of his home in Braddock, Pennsylvania, with the Edgar Thomson steel plant of U.S. Steel visible behind him, and it said Fetterman made clear he does not intend to become a Republican.
Axios and The Hill framed the move as unusual because it involved a Democrat senator intervening in a major Republican electoral event just weeks before the November midterm elections.
Trump’s $5,000 Promise
President Donald Trump wrapped up the first day of the GOP’s unprecedented midterm convention in Dallas with a keynote speech in which he pledged to send $5,000 "Trump dividends" out to all U.S. adults if Republicans hold both the Senate and House in November.
The Hill reported that Trump said the money would only be able to be used in the U.S. but did not share more specifics, and it noted that Fox News host Bret Baier estimated the cost would be more than $1.3 trillion in an interview with Vice President Vance.
Clarín said Trump promised on Wednesday to pay every "American adult" $5,000 if Republicans keep control of Congress in the November midterm elections, and it quoted him saying, "If the Republicans win, you win with us and you receive $5,000. It will be called the Trump dividend," at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
HuffPost UK described the convention’s pledge ceremony in Dallas as a "fucking insane" ceremony in which Trump claimed to be "the greatest president in the history of the United States" and suggested supporters cheat to defeat Democratic rivals.H
Clarin also said Trump urged votes as if for himself and told the audience, "I ask you to pretend I’m on the voting ballot. I’m on the ballot, just one more time," while The Hill said the convention’s speakers praised Trump’s record as he approaches the halfway mark of his second term.
Loyalty Pledge and Fallout
The convention’s second night in Dallas, Texas ended with Trump demanding a loyalty oath from viewers, with Truthout quoting him saying, "Please raise your right hand," and then pledging, "I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States that loves us so much he can’t even breathe" as he told the crowd he would go out with family and friends.
“"You know what happens if you don’t vote, you go to hell, you know that, okay?"”
Truthout also quoted Trump’s warning that, "You know what happens if you don’t vote, you go to hell, you know that, okay?" while it described the do-or-die commentaries from Republican speakers as part of what it called desperation in the final two months before voters go to the polls.
The Atlantic described the same pledge moment as Trump asking the audience to repeat his words, including the line "I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States," and it said the audience repeated his words as he continued with "that loves us so much he can’t even breathe …".T
Truthout said Vice President JD Vance objected to the GOP being described as racist and invoked racist tropes about immigrants, while it reported that an audience member shouted that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed "should be shot" during Ted Cruz’s speech.
In the same event, Truthout said Cruz vilified specific Democratic figures including Mamdani and El-Sayed and that El-Sayed condemned Cruz’s refusal to rebut the calls for political violence, quoting El-Sayed saying, "This is what has become the norm in our politics," and adding that politicians like Cruz should "learn to disagree agreeably."