The unprecedented two-day Republican Midterms Convention in Dallas concluded Thursday, September 10, after President Donald Trump claimed during the first day that U.S. Army Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was attending the event.

According to the Washington Post, however, Caine was attending another event several miles away on Wednesday, making his presence at the convention physically impossible. Post reporter Dan Lamothe wrote that Caine “instead spoke a few miles away at a 9/11 anniversary event at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, according to video and his spokesman, Joe Holstead.”

Trump, speaking at the political convention, said he wanted to thank Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Caine, saying both were present. At the 2026 GOP Midterms Convention, Trump asked, “Where is Gen. Caine? … They're here someplace.”

Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the Trump White House, told the Post that Trump “rightfully thanked Gen. Caine for all he has done to strengthen our military and make our homeland safer.” Lamothe reported that Kelly “did not address” Trump’s “inaccurate statement about Caine’s presence.”

Lamothe also noted that it would have been inappropriate for Caine, in his role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to speak at an overtly “partisan” event such as the GOP Midterms Convention in Dallas. His reported appearance at the 9/11 anniversary event therefore placed him at a separate public gathering while the convention was underway.

“Pentagon regulations prohibit U.S. troops from attending ‘partisan political events as an official representative of the Armed Forces, except as a member of a joint Armed Forces color guard at the opening ceremonies,’” Lamothe wrote.

At the 9/11 anniversary event, Caine recalled his experience as an F-16 fighter pilot with the D.C. National Guard on September 11, 2001. The day, he said, was tragic but “also filled with beautiful examples of selfless courage, over and over again.”

September 11, 2026, marks the 25th anniversary of al-Qaeda’s terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon. More than 3,000 Americans were killed that day.

The GOP Midterms Convention took place as Republicans were fighting to preserve their majorities in both houses of Congress. Speakers included Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who delivered the keynote address, as well as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat; former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt; and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son.