When I came across an opportunity to attend the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas, I thought, “Nah. I’m too busy.”
An alarm quickly went off in my head. A voice said, “What, are you freakin' nuts?! It’s the first time the GOP has ever held a midterm convention, and our country hangs in the balance. Get your butt over there.”
So I did.
The @GOP midterm convention is coming, and I'll be there and sharing the news on @RedState!
— Bob Hoge (@Bob_Hoge_CA) September 8, 2026
Every election is the most important ever.
Except this one really is. pic.twitter.com/6kMMVqJ0N4
What it was like:
There were many moments, both big and small, that I took away from what was a truly entertaining — and often extremely emotional — event. Rather than just give you a blow-by-blow account of the proceedings, however, I thought I’d deliver some observations and descriptions of what it was like to be there in person.
First: Texas is hot. As in, real hot. We got off the plane, and it felt like someone was blowing a huge hair dryer at us. The only other place I’ve experienced that is Vegas in July.
Another thing that took me a little longer to realize is that in the Lone Star State, you can proclaim your love for America, and no one will bother you. I mean, I already knew that, but it was a different thing to feel it. In Los Angeles, you would only walk down the street with a MAGA hat if you were hoping to get confronted by an AWFL Karen or a hyped-up leftie dude trying to prove he’s not what everyone knows he is — a malfunctioning beta.
But all joking aside, there's a good chance you'd encounter violence.
Someone gave my wife an America-themed cowboy hat, but it fit me perfectly, so she said, “Why don’t you wear it?” I was not thrilled with the idea, but I wore it to the first night of the convention and felt very conspicuous at first. I'm not a "look at me!" kind of guy. But by the end of the evening I didn’t want to take it off. Of course, it was a GOP event, so the acceptance was not completely surprising, but I wore it to dinner too and other places, and nobody batted an eye.
Speaking of dinner: OK, I get it now. I always thought barbecue was fine, but I didn’t relate to the hype (I have a feeling I'm going to get savaged for that admission).
I guess I just hadn’t tried Texas BBQ. Holy you know what, that stuff is seriously legit. I am a convert:
Texas is different.
— Bob Hoge (@Bob_Hoge_CA) September 9, 2026
And I’m liking it. pic.twitter.com/Ng36D3zGB8
In the arena
In the American Airlines Center, meanwhile, the excitement was palpable. I’ve been to a state GOP convention, CPAC, and other events, but never have I felt energy like this. Not only did attendees know that Trump was coming, but it also seemed they were more than aware that we are in an existential fight for the soul of this country and that the Democrats and Marxists want to tear down what heroes have spent 250 years building.
In the end, my America-themed hat actually seemed quite subtle compared to the outfits that I saw sported by many in the crowd.
When Trump did close out the evening on consecutive nights (Wednesday and Thursday), he kept pointing to that crowd. He admonished us not to go to the bathroom, because CNN would catch you leaving and quickly report that people were ditching in droves.
He was right. By the time the main speakers gave their speeches both nights, the place was packed. But sure enough, I found this Newsweek piece Wednesday:
[Reporter Alex] Rouhandeh noted that when Trump took the stage just after 9 p.m., the arena had filled in a little bit from the hour before. He estimated that the arena was 65-70 percent full. During his speech, Trump said the arena was "packed" and that photos that showed seats being empty were because people went to the bathroom.
I don’t know where the Newsweek hack was sitting, but that ain’t what I saw:
Balloons just came down in Dallas @gop convention! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/rA4TwIQPiE
— Bob Hoge (@Bob_Hoge_CA) September 11, 2026
Observations and Experiences
> The women behind the president holding up signs on Night One and then again on Night Two were standing. From my vantage point, it looked like they were sitting, but nope, they had to stand tall the entire time. Whether you’re a Trump fan or a Trump detractor, I think we can all agree on one thing: the man can talk. On Night One, he spoke for an hour and 47 minutes. Afterward, we spoke with some of the ladies, who said the group was mostly women from the Moms for Liberty organization, and they said that although they loved every minute of it, it was definitely a challenge.
> The security was impressive. Yes, the Secret Service has experienced some serious lapses in recent years, but boy, I don’t know how a psycho could have attacked this venue: it was locked down for blocks like a fortress.
However, here’s the one bad experience we had: on the first night, after Trump’s speech, we were told: “go this way to get to your bus.” We did, only to be told that the exit was locked down and we needed to go a different way. That too was shut down, and nobody quite seemed to be able to tell us how to get the hell out of there. We were literally trapped in a sardine can behind barricades, and nobody was getting through. It was pretty chaotic not just for us, but for many people, and we ended up just leaping on a bus to a random hotel so we could Uber from there to our afterparty. It was an hour and a half of stress before we escaped.
I get that they’re just doing their jobs in a dangerous world, but it was not ideal, shall we say.
My thought at the time: it’s really sad that it’s come to this.
> On Night One, we settled into our seats at the top of the first level when an event runner asked if we wanted to sit on the floor, very near the stage. Hell yeah! Turns out, though, this is not an idle job. We were given a stack of signs that we were supposed to wave, and it's tiring to stand up and cheer enthusiastically for that many hours. You can't take a minute to chill and check your email, either, since news cameras were everywhere.
I certainly didn’t mind because I was honestly enthusiastic about what many of the speakers were saying, but it was a workout!
> We were sitting in the lobby before Night Two. A friend noticed that the older gentleman on a chair near us was wearing a Medal of Honor. She asked him about it, and indeed, that’s exactly what it was, and he had earned it in combat. He understandably did not want to go into great detail, but he pointed behind us. There were numerous grey-haired gentlemen on couches and seats talking to each other and relaxing. “They’re all Medal of Honor recipients,” he told us. “Every single one of them.”
They were waiting for their bus to take them to the National Medal of Honor Museum in nearby Arlington, Texas, where Trump showed up to pay tribute to them before the night's convention activities had even gotten underway. Incredible.
It was pretty darn awe-inspiring to be in the presence of so many great American heroes. Took our breath away.
> Listening to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” always affects those of us who love our country but believe it faces dangerous threats from within. But hearing him live was something I’ll forever be grateful for. Witnesses claim my eyes watered up, but they are Fake News, and I am pondering lawsuits.
> A similar moment occurred as we waited at the airport for our flight home. I told a gentleman that I liked his “Never Forget” shirt. Turns out he was a Vietnam combat veteran, and we talked about how too many, especially on the Left, would rather we stop focusing so much on 9/11, when the reality is, if anything, we don’t focus on it enough.
That’s when one of those stunning moments hits: his wife said, “I was at the Pentagon that day.” I stupidly asked whether she went back to work the following day, because I was too blown away to think of anything else to say in the moment. Of course she had to go back to work — she and so many others had a country to save. Nobody knew if there was more to come, or even precisely what had happened.
Hats off to you, dear lady.
The Speeches
My colleagues have more than ably covered some of the great speeches by Vice President JD Vance, Rep. Brandon Gill (TX-26), Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and many more. One that really stood out to me, however, was Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr.’s remarks. As RedState’s Nick Arama wrote, he laid down one of the most devastating takedowns of just how extreme the Democrat party has become that I think I’ve ever seen. We knew we were watching something special:
"I grew up in a Democratic Party of FDR, my uncle John Kennedy, my father Robert Kennedy...clear policies and inspiring idealistic vision for America. Tax cuts, strong defense and FIGHTING communism."
"Does that sound familiar?!"
This was the most powerful speech yet from the RNC, maybe of the entire year. RFK Jr. was masterful.
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) September 11, 2026
Worth watching every word. https://t.co/9SaMVyNizL pic.twitter.com/y1inWv5fpB
As a colleague wrote on our (awesome) live blog of the convention, “This speech will change votes. Very few do.”
The Takeaway
In sum, this unorthodox convention did what it set out to do, namely, fire up Republicans, and in the words of the president, encourage them to act like Trump is on the ballot, because in many ways he is. The many speakers effectively defined what today’s Democrat party stands for: men in women’s sports, gender surgeries on kids, protecting illegal aliens, opening up our border to let in even more, and taxing the regular guy and gal up the ol’ wazoo.
And Marxism; let's not forget that. They have a radical vision for America, and if they succeed, they will turn the country into something unrecognizable. And terrible.
The question is: will this move that House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-05) initially called "genius" be enough? Almost everyone there, except for maybe the guy who tried but failed to interrupt the event by running around screaming and waving a Mexican flag, is already voting for Trump, as I’m guessing a huge proportion of those who watched at home are.
Will the message reach those who haven’t already woken up? The mainstream media certainly won’t help and will act like this incredible energy and passion never happened. Turnout will be key, and if Republicans don’t take Trump’s message that we need to act like he’s on the ballot to heart, things could very well not go our way in November.
If the Democrats take both the House and the Senate, we will see nothing but impeachments, investigations, obstruction, and extremism for the next two years — at least.
The takeaway for me: Act like your country is under assault. Because it is.
Awesome backdrop @GOP midterm convention!
— Bob Hoge (@Bob_Hoge_CA) September 9, 2026
I want to get a poster of this pic.twitter.com/Y6A1nxZ75M
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats desperately try to stop it.
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