Nikki McCann Ramirez
View all posts by Nikki McCann Ramirez September 11, 2026
Donald Trump leads a pledge to himself at the Republican convention in Dallas, on Sept. 10. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) It’s still Donald Trump’s party — and don’t you doubt it.
On the second night of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas — an event ostensibly meant to boost the GOP candidates on the ballot in November — the party fully embraced its status as a cult of devotion to a single man: the president.
In a video played on the screens throughout the American Airlines Center, a voice declared that “on June 14th, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker,’ so God gave us Trump.”
The video opened by zooming into planet Earth, landing on a childhood photo of the president.
God needed someone to “fight the marxists” the video narrated. “I need someone with arms strong enough to wrestle the deep state, and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild,” the voice of God intoned.
There is no record of Trump birthing one of his grandchildren, but Dear Leader bringing life into the world in the image of the God that chose him paints a picture one could worship.
Wow — RNC video: "On June 14th, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, 'I need a caretaker,' so God gave us Trump." It only gets more unhinged and culty from there. pic.twitter.com/ODodFGc43k
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 11, 2026
Attendees were thrilled. At one point, CBS’ Ed O’Keefe asked a member of the crowd if Vice President JD Vance was their pick for the 2028 nomination.
“My guy is who Donald Trump endorses,” the woman replied.
“So it’s up to [Trump] to tell you?” O’Keefe pressed.
“That’s exactly right,” she said. “I’ll do my own research, [but] if he told me to back or support a liberal leftist I’d have to think twice.”
“I’m very loyal,” she added. “People call us groupies — a cult! I don’t care.”
O'KEEFE: Is Vance your guy in 2028? RNC ATTENDEE: My guy is who Donald Trump endorses O'KEEFE: So it's up to him to tell you? WOMAN: That's exactly right. People call us a cult. I don't care. pic.twitter.com/A1rpdx9YZu
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 10, 2026
Trump himself soaked up the praise. Upon closing his speech on Thursday, the president had the crowd raise their hands and recite a pledge — not to the nation, but to himself.
“I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States — that loves us so much he can’t even breathe,” he recited in a call and response with the crowd.
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“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,” he rambled (without the expectation that the crowd would keep up anymore). “And we are going to vote.”
“You know what happens if you don’t vote?” Trump asked. “You go to hell.”
