Republicans have a little more than 50 days to reassert themselves before the midterms, on Ben Domenech's count, and he says the most significant thing that has happened at their convention so far was a Democratic senator walking out to introduce a Republican.
Most of the coverage from Dallas went to the President's promise of a $5,000 check. Domenech and Miranda Devine spent this segment on the two things they think actually moved — the party's first midterm convention, held on the anniversary of Charlie Kirk's murder, and a set of Senate races they say have just been reframed.
"Let's tell the people what these people are offering instead."
Devine writes the New York Post column Kudlow calls ace and is a Fox News contributor. Domenech, also a Fox News contributor, was in the hall in Dallas as the President spoke and reported the mood in the room.
I listened to the full segment so you can skip it.
Here are the 6 moments that matter.
👤 Guests: Miranda Devine, a New York Post columnist and Fox News contributor, in New York; and Ben Domenech, a Fox News contributor, at the convention in Dallas
🎙️ Host: Larry Kudlow, who anchors Kudlow on Fox Business weekdays at 4 p.m.
👥 Also on: the show's correspondent reporting live from Utah Valley University
📰 Published: 10 September 2026 on Fox Business, and on the Kudlow podcast feed
🟣 Apple Podcasts | 🔗 Episode page | ⏱️ 46 min
Key Takeaways
Domenech's read on the convention is that a Democratic senator introducing a Republican colleague was the signal, not the speech
John Fetterman introduced Dave McCormick; Domenech says a lot of Americans will have noticed
Republicans have a little more than 50 days to work in a unified way, and Domenech thinks they can
Devine says the President spoke for almost two hours and was in top form, and reads it as one of his last big set speeches
Both of them think the $5,000 check was a mistake, and Devine still would not rule out its usefulness
Her framing is a roll of the dice: unlikely to be kept, but worth it if it got them over the line
The party's loss of Charlie Kirk is, on Domenech's account, not replaceable rather than merely costly
What went with him was a capacity to move people toward conservative values, through his life and his eloquence
Devine's Senate read is that Trump put Roy Cooper in jeopardy and tried to rescue Ken Paxton in the same speech
She does not expect Texas to flip, whatever James Talarico does to remake himself
1. The Utah Memorial
The segment opened with the show's correspondent on the campus where Charlie Kirk was killed a year ago, and the report was the factual spine of what followed.
A moment of silence was held at 12:23 p.m. local time, and a bell rang to mark the exact moment of the killing
A year ago the same courtyard was packed, with Kirk's signature white tent at the center. The large American flag raised shortly after the assassination is back up
Utah Valley University cancelled classes for the anniversary, and thousands were expected for a memorial on campus. Turning Point USA held its own event there the same day
People spent the day leaving flowers and mementos at the spot. The correspondent's own note was that he pictures Kirk speaking there every time he looks at it
Erika Kirk marked the day privately with her family, and has written about the year since — that grief does not care who a person voted for, and that "those who have walked through grief know the waves never completely disappear they are not supposed to"
A statue of Kirk was unveiled in Phoenix at Turning Point USA's headquarters, where supporters gathered for prayer and worship
Some students objected to Turning Point USA returning to the campus. The university's president said the university welcomes all types of organizations
2. What The Party Lost
Kudlow asked Domenech directly whether Kirk's absence damages the Republican party — its leadership and its organization.
Domenech's first answer was that most people were thinking about Erika Kirk rather than about the party, and that the people he had spoken to in Dallas were praying for her and her family
On the political question his answer was that the loss is not the kind you replace. What the party lost, he said, was someone with the capacity to move people toward conservative values, through his own life and through his eloquence
He was explicit that it is not a common skill, and included himself among those who do not have it
"That's something that is impossible to replace. That is not something everyone has a skill to do. Certainly I don't"
He also pointed to Kirk's particular connection with young people as the part that cannot be reproduced by an organization
3. The Mood In Dallas
Kudlow's second question was whether there is genuine vitality and excitement at a midterm convention, which is a new thing for the party.
Domenech said people in Dallas are waking up to a narrative in which Republicans buck the historical trend — the trend being that the party holding the White House loses ground in a midterm
His framing of the opportunity is the other side's composition: what he called truly radical elements of the Democratic coalition seizing new power, with the party's leadership appearing beholden to them
He was careful about the claim, saying it goes against historical trends but could lead to more success than was expected at the start of the year
Devine's answer on the same point was that a midterm convention is a fantastic idea precisely because midterms stay local and do not reach the national news cycle
"It is a fantastic idea to have a midterm convention."
"Midterms are so boring and they don't really get onto the news cycle."
4. Devine On The Speech
Devine watched the whole thing and gave the fullest account of it in the segment.
He spoke for almost two hours, she said, and was in top form — amusing and astute, and visibly fighting rather than coasting
"He's in top form he spoke for almost two hours"
On the patriotism line itself: "It's so pure and so brilliant."
She reads it as one of the last big set speeches he will give before he exits the stage, which is part of why she thought it mattered
On whether he made the sale, her answer was yes. He was optimistic, and laid out successes she said she had forgotten, including making English the official language of the United States, alongside the anti-woke measures and the economic record
"So, I think he did and no one can sell the country better than him."
Her summary of his pitch on the opposition is his own image: a little dark cloud hanging over America that he says will be cleared for sunny skies
Her verdict on the $5,000 promise is that it is a mistake and should be dropped — while allowing that it is a roll of the dice, that it is unlikely Republicans can keep it, and that if the check got them over the line it would have been worth it
The line she wanted him to lead with instead: making the individual tax cuts on overtime and tips permanent. Her historical case is that the party wins when it campaigns on lower taxes and economic growth
"And just be the candidate, the GOP historically wins when they are campaigning on lower taxes and economic growth."
"We do not have to spell out the stuff that does not work."
She added the non-economic half of the same argument — the border, law and order, and murder being down — and called it huge
5. Lean Into The Referendum
Asked about the President's decision to tell voters to pretend he is on the ballot, Domenech made the strategic case for it.
The conventional advice, he said, is the opposite of what Trump is doing. Political consultants would say you do not want a referendum election; you want local issues and a smaller frame
His counter is that the choice was never available. Trump dominates politics to the point that it was going to be a referendum election regardless, so the President is leaning into what was already true
"And essentially the President is saying if he's going to be a referendum, let's lean into it."
"Let's tell the people what these people are offering instead." What he wants run against is a radical agenda he describes as a break with the Democrats of the past
The convention's most significant moment, on his account, was not the speech: "the most significant moment at this convention thus far was of course John Fetterman's decision to introduce his colleague McCormick"
He called it a signal for a lot of Americans
His closing count is the timeline for it — "Republicans have a little more than 50 days to reassert themselves." He wants them working in a unified way in that time, and thinks they can
6. Cooper, Paxton, Talarico
Both guests treated the speech as a piece of Senate-race management, and Devine went through the names.
Kudlow noted the President went after Roy Cooper in North Carolina and Abdul El-Sayed, and framed the whole thing as a fight across 35 congressional districts
Devine's view is that Cooper had a free pass until that night. She says Trump put him in trouble and hung an association around his neck that voters will not now forget
Her read on the Ken Paxton passage is that it was a rescue. The President completely reframed Paxton, she said, because it matters that he wins the Senate race — she granted that voters may not like him and that he does not present well, while arguing his record in office is the strongest the state has had
On Texas itself she was flat. "The dream of every left-winger is to carry Texas. I don't think that dream will be realized this year." She added that it holds no matter how much James Talarico tries to remake himself
Devine's framing of why the patriotism line lands is the mirror image: voters do not like hearing America blamed, so a candidate who says it belongs to the people who love it is on safe ground
Bonus Insights
Kudlow's own description of the speech was that there was a lot of rock and roll in it, and he pressed both guests on whether the party can buck history. His question to each of them was the same four words: "Did he make the sale last evening?"
Domenech did not claim the convention had changed the race, only that the narrative in the room had changed — which is a narrower claim than the one Kudlow put to him
Devine's line on the President as a salesman was that nobody can sell the country better than he can, and that the audience could tell he means it
Devine twice used the phrase "so to speak" about him being on the ballot, which is the same framing the President used himself and the frame the whole convention was built on
Kudlow ended the segment by thanking both and turning to the Minnesota Senate race, which he previewed as normal versus crazy
The bottom line both guests landed on is that the convention gave Republicans a national frame for a midterm that would otherwise have stayed local — and that the frame survives only if the party spends the next 50 days on taxes and growth rather than on a check.
Products, Companies & Tools Mentioned
Turning Point USA (Held its own event on the Utah campus on the anniversary and unveiled a statue of Charlie Kirk at its Phoenix headquarters; some students objected to its return to campus)
Utah Valley University (Cancelled classes for the anniversary and expected thousands for a memorial; its president said it welcomes all types of organizations)
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