The speech by President Donald Trump on the inaugural night of the Midterm Republican Convention in Dallas was a resounding success that attracted television ratings higher than the inaugural game of the NFL season.
"The Republican Midterm Convention last night in Dallas was a resounding success and sold-out, much bigger, better, and more important than anyone thought possible", Trump wrote on social media this morning. "It was truly incredible, it was broadcast everywhere and had very high numbers, despite competing against the NFL. The total numbers surpassed those of the NFL," he added.
The convention competed on Wednesday night with the inaugural game of the American football season, where the New England Patriots faced the reigning champions Seattle Seahawks. The nationally broadcast game began at 8:20 p.m. Eastern time, while Trump's speech started shortly after 9 p.m.
The GOP convention in 2026 will take place in the Texas city of Dallas
Looking back at past data, last season's inaugural game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys reached a peak audience of 34.4 million viewers, while Trump's acceptance speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention attracted 28.4 million viewers.
The Republican mogul also used his Truth Social account to reveal that his party's event enjoyed a record attendance at the American Airlines Center, home of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and the NHL's Dallas Stars. "The arena, which was really nice, broke its own attendance records. The place was packed. There were thousands of people outside who couldn't get in. Screens were set up," the president stated.
This convention is the first midterm Republican meeting in history and aims to promote Trump's party candidates with the hope that the ruling party maintains control of both chambers of Congress. Trump will give another speech this Thursday night and will be preceded at the podium by a speech from his vice president JD Vance.
Midterm Republican Convention: Trump's speech was a success and broke attendance and rating records
