Donald Trump turned a push for Republican voter turnout into one of the most talked-about moments of the party’s Dallas convention when he asked supporters to raise their right hands and repeat a pledge that included a joke about cheating in the November midterm elections.
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According to a transcript of Trump’s September 10 closing remarks published by Roll Call’s Factbase, Trump told the crowd at the American Airlines Center, “So please raise your right hand,” before beginning a call-and-response pledge centered on getting his supporters to the polls.During the pledge, Trump told the audience, “I don’t care if I’m registered or not, I’m going to try and cheat like hell like they do.” Contemporary coverage from The Daily Beast reported that the crowd laughed after the remark.
The comment came as Trump was stressing the importance of the November 3 midterms and urging Republicans to bring friends and relatives with them to vote. The Factbase transcript shows Trump continued by saying supporters should get their families and friends involved and vote either on Election Day or before it.
The moment stood out because Trump had spent part of the same speech arguing for tighter election rules. According to the transcript, shortly before the pledge, Trump called for voter identification, proof of citizenship, and what he described as greater honesty in American elections.
Trump has repeatedly accused Democrats of widespread election cheating, including continuing to claim that he won the 2020 election. The Associated Press reported in a fact check of claims made during the Dallas convention that Trump’s assertion about winning the 2020 race remains false and that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud that changed the outcome.
A Reuters investigation published in July also found little evidence supporting Trump’s broader claims about widespread illegal voting by noncitizens. Reuters reported that federal records showed 129 prosecutions involving noncitizen voting since 1996, with no evidence of a coordinated fraud operation connected to either political party.
Voting without being properly registered is also not simply a matter of showing up at a polling place. According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, voters must be registered to participate in federal elections in every state except North Dakota. Several states allow eligible residents to register on Election Day, while others require registration as early as 30 days before an election.
Trump’s remarks came during the Republican Party’s unusual midterm convention in Dallas, where party leaders gathered to build enthusiasm ahead of the November elections. The Associated Press reported that Republicans used the two-day event to rally supporters as the party faces competitive races that could determine control of the House and Senate.
Trump also made himself a central part of the GOP’s midterm strategy. According to Reuters, he urged Republicans to approach the election as though he were personally on the ballot, a strategy intended to motivate voters who have historically been more energized when Trump himself is running.
The convention also produced another headline-grabbing proposal from Trump. The Associated Press reported that he promised a $5,000 payment to every American adult if Republicans maintain control of both chambers of Congress. Trump called the proposal the “Trump dividend,” though the AP reported that the plan would cost at least $1 trillion and would require congressional action.
Against that backdrop, the voting pledge became an especially striking closing moment. Trump framed the exercise as a way to lock in turnout from supporters, while the audience treated his cheating remark as a joke. Still, the comment landed in the middle of an election cycle where Trump and his allies continue to make election integrity one of their central political arguments.
The humor also did not erase the contradiction at the center of the moment. Trump was asking for stricter safeguards against election fraud while joking, in the same closing speech, that being unregistered would not stop him from trying to vote. Whether supporters heard it simply as another improvised Trump punchline or something more provocative, the remark ensured that a convention designed to focus Republicans on November ended with the conversation once again centered on Trump and the rules surrounding American elections.
