President Donald Trump capped the first day of his Republican Party's midterm convention by proposing to pay every US adult a $5,000 "Trump dividend" if his party wins November's congressional elections.
Mr Trump delivered the extraordinary overture during a prime time speech that lasted nearly two hours and firmly placed himself at the centre of the midterm campaign at a time when his sagging approval ratings could weigh on Republicans' chances.
Vice President JD Vance will give a keynote address on Thursday night, though Mr Trump is scheduled to return to bring the made-for-television two-day event in Dallas to an end.
With Mr Trump constitutionally barred from seeking a third term, Mr Vance's speech could serve as an early audition for the 2028 presidential election.
It was not immediately clear how the $5,000 payments would work or whether they would be legal. The proposal would likely cost more than $1 trillion, with about 270 million US adults, and could require the approval of Congress.
The convention's focus on Trump – some Republicans have dubbed it "Trumpapalooza" – amounts to a risky bet that he can rally voters who carried him to the presidency two years ago, despite opinion polls showing his popularity is at an all-time low.
'Pretend I'm on the ballot'
"I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot," Mr Trump said, a line that may have pleased Democratic campaign strategists just as much as Maga voters.
Republican efforts got a boost from an unlikely source on Wednesday, when Democratic US Senator John Fetterman appeared in a pre-taped video segment introducing his "great friend," fellow Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican.
Mr Fetterman said he would always "reject the extremes in socialism," a comment that is likely to bolster republican attacks on democrats as too left-wing, but he has rejected speculation that he might leave the party.
Some vulnerable Republicans in tough races, perhaps mindful of tying themselves too closely to the unpopular Mr Trump, elected to skip the affair, including Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
