U.S. President Donald Trump is showing self-sufficiency again as he capped the first-ever Republican Midterm Convention by asking his supporters to pledge allegiance to him in a vow to vote.
‘Please raise right your right hand. I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States. That loves us so much he can’t even breathe,’ Trump requested of the crowd.
‘That I will go out with my family, my friends, I’ll do it any way — I don’t care if I’m registered or not, I’m going to try to cheat like hell like they do… and we are going to vote on November 3,’ Trump added during his remarks.
He heavily emphasized the critical nature of the upcoming midterm elections, adding a warning to those who might sit it out, Trump probed, ‘You know what happens if you don’t vote right?,’ before revealing the punch line: ‘you go to hell.’
Democrats seized on the moment, with the party’s rapid response ‘Headquarters’ account calling the pledge ‘a cult ritual.’
Tim Hogan, a messaging adviser for the Democrats, called the whole GOP midterm convention, ‘a stunningly pointless exercise for the Republicans.’
Trump’s speech on Thursday lasted under half an hour, a far cry from the nearly two-hour long address he gave on Wednesday night.
He also used the speech to praise Vice President JD Vance, who delivered a 40-minute keynote address that was closely watched as potentially teeing up for him to be the party’s next presidential nominee.
Although Vance has not said whether he will run for the White House and Trump has yet to name an heir apparent, the crowd roared ‘JD! JD!’ when he stepped to the microphone.
