US politics as it happened: Vance taunts flag-waving protester

The two-day Republican midterm convention ended with Trump calling on attendees to "go out and vote."

Opera performer Christopher Macchio took the stage to sing 'America the Beautiful' as balloons fell throughout the arena.

Trump rocked to the music and pumped his fist before leaving, while audience members headed for the exits carrying oversized balloons and delegate signs.

Donald Trump claimed there were "no empty seats" on the convention's second day, even though large portions of the upper deck were clearly vacant.

The US President spent several minutes praising the crowd inside the American Airlines Centre, which can hold about 20,000 people.

“Look at it,” Trump said. “The highest rafter, no empty seats.”

“Look at the upper ring. Look, everything is taken,” he said, adding that even the “rich people boxes” were full.

But much of the upper deck was empty, something Trump eventually appeared to notice after predicting the media would report on vacant seats.

“I gotta do a little bit better in the back,” he said.

“I’m not happy with it. That’s not good. I shouldn’t have looked up there,” he added.

Vance has wrapped up his speech to make way for Trump who will deliver the final address of the convention.

He opened by saying he wasn't planning to say much, but then launched into an attack on his political foes and an upbeat defence of his two years in office.

“We were a laughing stock all over the world,” Trump said, referring to his predecessor, Joe Biden.

“But we took that dark age of America and turned it into the golden age of America.”

Touting his achievements during his second term, the presient claimed he's “delivered on every single promise I made, and I think I delivered on far more.”

Trump also reiterated his pledge that he will give every American adult a $US5000 dividend if Republicans win both the House and the Senate in the November elections.

Spurred on by chants of “USA, USA, USA,” Vance grabbed the opportunity to link the “far left” with the protester.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I had a whole speech written, but I think I got to change it because we just discovered the symbol of the far left, an idiot waving a Mexican flag at a protest when he should be waving the flag of the United States of America.”

"Now, we all know, of course, that as much as that person might wave around a foreign flag, he’d much rather live in Dallas, or in Cincinnati, or in any one of our great cities than Mexico," Vance said.

A demonstrator has briefly interrupted Vance's speech, drawing jeers.

Vance said the protester was waving a Mexican flag and addressed them from the stage.

“Well, my friend, if you love Mexico so much, get your ass back over there,” the Vice President said, drawing booming cheers.

Vice President JD Vance has just walked on the stage as he delivers the convention’s keynote address on the final day.

He immediately acknowledged the warm reception from the Republican faithful who chanted his name.

“I gotta say, it’s it’s pretty cool to hear a crowd that is this fired up chant your name. So go ahead and do it again,” Vance said.

While the Vice President was met with cheers, the reception did not seem quite as loud as the welcome Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt got as they took the stage earlier.

Back to the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, where American tenor Christopher Macchio has performed an eye-watering tribute to victims of the September 11 terror attacks.

His performance of Ave Maria was the most  poignant moment of the convention, marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks on New York, Washington, DC, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

A narrator intoned “2977 innocent people lost their lives,” as familiar videos transitioned to home videos of families.

“Always remember who they are,” the narrator said solemnly. “Say their names. Honor their sacrifice. Defend Freedom. Never forget September 11.”

The ASX has dropped 1 per cent in early trading on Friday after the oil price spiked.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell to 8731.60 at 10.05am AEST. Six of the 11 industry sectors recorded losses.

Investors tracked the gloomy outlook on Wall Street, which was spooked by rising oil prices and a possible US interest rates rise.

Earlier, the the S&P 500 fell 0.6 per cent for a fourth straight loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.7 per cent.

The rising global oil price is flowing through to the bowsers of Australian service stations.

The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, has hit $US107, a level not recorded since May.

According to the NRMA, petrol prices in Sydney started this week at an average of $2.06 per litre, but on Friday many service stations in the city were up to $2.10 per litre or more.

The average Sydney price for diesel was $2.53 per litre on Monday, but by Friday this had risen to $2.60 or more.