US President Donald Trump has promised to pay every adult American $5,000 if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Trump made the pledge on Wednesday during the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, presenting the proposed payment as a “Trump Dividend” and tying it directly to a Republican victory at the polls.
“If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000,” Trump told the gathering. “It will be called the Trump Dividend.”
The proposal, however, immediately raised questions over its funding, legality and potential impact on the US government’s already substantial fiscal deficit.
With approximately 270 million adults in the United States, a $5,000 payment to each would cost about $1.35 trillion, according to Reuters. The Associated Press also reported that the proposal would likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval.
Trump sought to justify the proposed payout by comparing it to dividends paid by corporations to shareholders.
He said the payment would be possible because of what he described as the country’s economic strength.
“We have tremendous strength and success economically,” Trump said, according to AP.
However, Trump did not provide details on how the government would finance the programme or explain how it would be implemented.
Vice President JD Vance appeared to qualify the proposal shortly afterwards, suggesting wealthy Americans could be excluded and indicating that tariff revenues could potentially help fund the payments. AP reported that the amount proposed far exceeds US tariff revenues.
The proposal comes as the US national debt has surpassed $40 trillion, while the country is running an annual budget deficit approaching $1.8 trillion, according to AP.
Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, questioned the economic basis of Trump’s proposal.
“The idea that we’ve had fiscal success is backwards and bordering on laughable,” Goldwein said. “We don’t have surpluses to give away.”
Trump has previously floated the idea of direct payments to Americans, including a $2,000 “dividend” proposal earlier this year. But this is the first time he has explicitly tied such a payment to Republicans maintaining control of Congress.
The president’s latest pledge also comes at a politically critical moment for Republicans, who are defending their narrow House majority and facing a competitive Senate battle in November.
Trump used his convention speech to urge Republicans to treat the midterm election as a referendum on his presidency.
“I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” he said.
He also warned voters against handing Congress to Democrats.
“We hand America’s future to the radical left Democrats, and our nation will spend the next decade just getting back on its feet,” Trump said. “Vote Republicans and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come.”
Trump’s proposed “dividend” would still require congressional action before any payments could be made. An attorney cited by AP said the proposal could be legally permissible because it would apply regardless of whether recipients voted or which candidate they supported.
“This is a campaign promise,” attorney John Day said. “It’s not a payment to individuals to try to get them to vote in a particular way.”
For now, the proposed $5,000 payment remains a campaign pledge, with its funding mechanism, eligibility rules and legislative pathway yet to be fully established
