US politics as it happened: ‘Trump-a-palooza’ kicks off as ASX plunges

Night one of the Republican midterm convention may be over, but all the key players will be back to do it all again tomorrow.

That includes the president, though he told supporters in Dallas he would not hog the microphone as long as he did today.

“I gave you a lot of material. I don’t have to do it twice,” he said as he left the podium.

Trump's speech went for nearly two hours.

US President Donald Trump also acknowledged Charlie Kirk, the conservative political activist who was assassinated last year.

The first anniversary of his death is tomorrow US time, and the convention broke out into cheers of "Charlie, Charlie" as Trump mentioned Kirk.

“What shocked millions of Americans was not only the fact that Charlie was murdered, as bad as it was, but also how many people made an excuse for it or cheered for it,” Trump said.

Trump also singled out Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, who was seated at the convention next to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Kirk was killed by a single bullet while on stage at Utah Valley University on September 10; 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson was arrested and charged with the killing of Kirk.

A suspected Iranian nuclear site buried under granite has seen a flurry of construction work this year as the war with the US has transpired, according to a group of analysts who reviewed six years of satellite imagery.

The Pickaxe Mountain site, located near the Natanz nuclear complex roughly 140 miles south of Tehran, has been the subject of steady discussion by intelligence agencies which view it as a likely location for Iran to protect future nuclear program efforts.

According to a new satellite imagery analysis by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank, shared exclusively with CNN ahead of its publication, there has been “a clear surge in construction activity” this year.

The underground facility is “likely” designed to be a safe haven for Iran’s nuclear program, according to the CSIS analysts.

Trump has dangled a big financial carrot for all Americans if the Republicans are swept to power in six weeks.

He promised to give every US citizen $5000 ($6900) if the Republicans win the House and Senate in the November midterm elections.

He told the crowd in Texas: “If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, because of our tremendous economic success, like in history, we’ve never had anything like what’s happening, but because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5000.”

Handing that sum to the more than 300 million US citizens would cost at least $US1.5 trillion.

The president has touched on his spate of geographical name changes.

Trump received applause when brought up an idea he first floated on the past weekend to rename the state of New Mexico New America.

“The people love the idea,” he said. He mused about renaming the Pacific or Atlantic ocean, but added, “I don’t think you can do both.”

Setting his sights further afield, Trump said he should rename the Strait of Hormuz after himself.

“We’ll call it the Trump Strait, and I’m sure the Iranian leadership will be thrilled with that."

And he signalled how costly the strait has proved in his Middle Eastern policy.

“I should get something out of it,” Trump said, emphasising the word “something.”

Trump has repeated his pledge to campaign for Republican candidates in all 35 races leading up to the elections.

"They might be winning by a little or losing by a little or tied. We can win every one of those races, but I’m going to go to every one of those states for congressmen and for senators," he told supporters.

The president singled out the Texas Senate race where the state's Attorney General Ken Paxton carries Republican hopes.

“I’ll be coming back to Texas because we have to elect Ken Paxton,” Trump said. “If I have to, I’ll come back twice or three times.”

The ASX is currently having the worst day in months, dropping 1.9 per cent and wiping approximately $50 billion of value off its books as investors are spooked by the rising cost of oil.

At the time of publishing, the ASX 200 was down 1.8 per cent, recording its worst half-day results in more than six months, tracking back to March 9.

Much of the sell-off is being driven by high oil prices, as the Iran war pushes the price of a barrel of crude back over $US101.

As the Iran war shows no signs of an imminent resolution, many investors would be pulling funds out of shares and into investments that are considered to be safer, or more protected from geopolitical machinations.

Despite Trump languishing in the polls, the president is urging Republicans to put him at the front and centre of the midterm campaign.

He urged supporters across America to “pretend that I’m on the ballot” as they cast their vote in November.

“I’m on the ballot, just one more time,” he said.

“Because if we lose, you’re going to lose your border, you’re going to lose your tax cuts, you’re going to lose your safety and security. You’re going to lose your wealth. Our country is going through hell. You will be going through hell just like you did just two years ago.”

Trump has launched it to typical hyperbole and outright falsehoods.

He declared the convention venue, the American Airlines Centre, as "packed", but there are plenty of empty ones, largely in the uppermost levels, according to NBC.

The president also claimed that “we won the presidency three times,” referring to the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections. He did not win the presidency in 2020, despite his repeated claims otherwise.

And his sense of history went missing when he described the Republican gathering as the "first-ever midterm convention of any party."

Democrats held them twice during the 1970s.