Trump Ties $5,000 Payments to GOP Midterm Victory

President Donald Trump pledged on Wednesday to send $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, an unusual attempt to reverse his party's expected losses in November.

The promise, which would likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, would deepen the country's nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and add to inflation concerns.

"If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," Trump said during the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas. "I will be called the Trump Dividend."

He compared the payments to a corporation's distributions to shareholders, pointing to "our tremendous strength and success economically."

Congress would need to approve or otherwise allow the payment. The amount would far exceed US tariff revenues even before the Supreme Court tossed much of the president's tariff program last year. The national debt last month topped $40 trillion for the first time.

Trump has often noted that the president's party almost always loses seats in Congress during midterms, and he has sought unorthodox ways to defy that trend, including this week's convention.

The move echoed billionaire Elon Musk's efforts to influence last year's Wisconsin state Supreme Court race, where he handed out million-dollar checks to voters to boost a candidate who ultimately lost.

Trump has raised the idea before but never tied it to his party's electoral fortunes. Earlier this year, he proposed a $2,000 dividend and said he did not think he needed congressional approval. Last year, he gave members of the military a $1,776 check he called a "warrior dividend."

"I will get a bill ready so that we can get the Trump Dividend passed immediately after the November 3rd election," Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio wrote on X late Wednesday. "Because Republicans (and America) will win!"

A $5,000 check would give each American more money than they received in direct government payments from COVID-19 relief measures during Trump's first term.

Republicans are on defense as they look to protect their narrow House majority against strong headwinds. Trump is unpopular, and Americans overwhelmingly oppose the war in Iran. Even the Senate, which Republicans once were well-positioned to keep, is up for grabs.