U.S. President Donald Trump promised on Wednesday to pay a $5,000 dividend to every adult American if Republicans win the upcoming midterm elections.
“If Republicans win the elections for the U.S. House and Senate—both of them—I will pay a $5,000 dividend to every adult citizen of the United States of America,” Trump declared while delivering a keynote speech at a Republican convention in Dallas.
He added that the only condition for receiving the dividend would be a requirement to spend the funds within the United States. Trump provided no further details regarding the potential payments.
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Trump has repeatedly raised the idea of dividend payments to Americans, citing the strength of the economy during his second term. Last year, he proposed paying out $2,000 each, funded by revenue generated from trade tariffs.
However, talk of a tariff-funded dividend subsided after the Supreme Court struck down nearly all of Trump’s imposed tariffs in early 2026.
It remains unclear how Washington could finance such payments given the deteriorating fiscal position of the world’s largest economy. Critics argue that the payments would be funded by increasing debt rather than through actual dividends.
The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan think tank, estimates that the budget deficit will reach $2.1 trillion in the 2026 fiscal year.
The Republican Party also faces a challenging outlook for the midterm elections amidst growing public dissatisfaction with Trump’s war with Iran and its impact on the cost of living. Gasoline prices surged in early September due to the resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran.
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