5 minPolitics
Trump Offers $5,000 Dividend to Voters if GOP Keeps Congress
President Donald Trump used the first night of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas to promise a $5,000 dividend for every adult citizen if Republicans hold the House and Senate, while Democrats dismissed the proposal as an empty promise.
President Donald Trump told Republicans at the first-ever GOP midterm convention in Dallas that he will issue a $5,000 dividend to every adult U.S. citizen if the party holds both chambers of Congress in November, an unusual direct appeal to voters with less than two months until the midterm elections.
Speaking at the American Airlines Center on the opening night of the two-day gathering, Trump framed the payment as a reward for Republican economic stewardship and tied it directly to the outcome of the congressional races. «If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,» Trump said, according to his remarks. He offered no further details about the mechanism or timing of the payments, adding only that the money «must be spent in the United States of America.»
The proposal came nearly an hour into a speech that lasted close to two hours, and Trump described it as «the best part of the speech.» The White House has not released additional information on how the dividend would be funded or administered, though Trump linked it to tariff revenues.
Democrats quickly rejected the offer. «Donald Trump and Republicans are once again offering empty promises to Americans,» said Kendall Witmer, rapid response director for the Democratic National Committee, in a statement. DNC Chair Ken Martin, responding after the speech, called Trump «the biggest liability in American politics right now» and described the convention as a «bizarre dog-and-pony show» held to «placate Trump's fragile ego.»
The president also used the address to promote his economic record amid persistent inflation, a recent surge in fuel prices tied to the ongoing conflict with Iran, and a deepening trade dispute with Canada. Public opinion polls show his approval rating on the economy remains underwater, but Trump painted an optimistic picture. «I'm bringing the prices down, way, way down,» he said, adding that «oil will be going down as soon as we win the war with Iran.»
He pointed to last year's tax cuts passed by the Republican-controlled Congress, calling them «the largest tax cuts in the history of country,» and highlighting provisions that eliminated taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security. He also cited «the largest prescription drug price cuts in history,» arguing that alone should carry the party through the midterms.
Democrats have made affordability a central theme, saying their recent electoral overperformances stem from voter concern over grocery prices, health care premiums and wages that have not kept pace with inflation. «The only people reaping the benefits of Trump's economy are himself, his family, and his ultra-rich elite donors,» Witmer said. «Meanwhile, working families get nothing except sky-high receipts at the grocery store and the pump, unaffordable healthcare premiums, and wages that aren't keeping up with inflation.»
With early voting set to begin in weeks, Republican leaders used the convention to energize the party's MAGA base and draw a contrast with Democrats. Trump repeatedly characterized his opponents as «radical left communists» and «crazed lunatics and radicals.» Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the crowd that «the radical left is relentless in their pursuit to remake America, in the image of every socialist hellscape of the last century.» Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the chamber's number three Republican, said Democrats «are running on this radical roadmap» and «sound like an anti-American hate group.»
Democrats held a counterprogramming news conference across the street from the convention hall hours before it began. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told reporters that «voters can see through the BS that Republicans are spewing» and that the convention «can't paper over the fact that Republicans have done nothing to earn your vote.»
The gathering also featured a surprise pre-recorded video appearance by Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a centrist Democrat known for criticizing his party's left flank. Trump, meanwhile, urged supporters to treat the election as a personal referendum. «I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot,» he said, a message Republican leaders hope will drive turnout in the key races that will determine control of Congress.
