DALLAS, Texas – A former reality TV personality, U.S. President Donald Trump is no stranger to game show-style promises.
But his comments at the Republican National Convention in Dallas on Wednesday raised eyebrows as he suggested that the prize money was at stake in the results of November’s midterm elections.
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President Trump said he would give every American adult a “$5,000 dividend” if Republicans retain control of both houses of Congress.
“If Republicans win, you will win with us,” he told the audience.
But such a large payment would set the U.S. government back more than $1 trillion. Not only would the dividend be expensive for the federal budget, it would also likely inject economy-shaking amounts of cash into U.S. markets, increasing the risk of inflation.
President Trump provided few details about how he could make good on such promises. He said only that the money must be spent within the United States.
Immediately after President Trump’s speech, Sen. Bernie Moreno, a staunch Trump ally, promised to introduce legislation that would very likely codify this pledge.
Vice President J.D. Vance, on the other hand, seemed to soften his claims, saying that President Trump was referring to “dividends to American workers” supported by tariff policy.
“What the president is saying now is, ‘If you continue to do that to the American people and allow us to continue to do these things by keeping us in power, you’re going to share in some of the benefits of this incredible wealth that we’re creating in the United States of America,'” Vance told Fox News.
“I don’t think it’s a controversial idea,” he added.
But critics on both sides of the aisle greeted the unconventional pledge with a rare bipartisan sentiment: surprise. Many voiced concerns that the dividend would violate federal law.
“My first thought was that bribery is illegal,” said Gabi Michaelis, 25, a receptionist from Dallas who gathered with other protesters outside the convention on Thursday.
“He’s said this before,” she said, referring to President Trump’s promise at the beginning of his second term to turn cuts to the federal government into cash payments to Americans. “That has never happened before.”
Stephen Roberts, a Trump supporter and former communications engineer from Rice City, Texas, had a similar, albeit more reasonable, assessment.
“It’s like a bribe,” he said aloud. “I mean, I think if he can pull it off, that would be great.”
The legality of such pledges remained unclear. Some supporters characterized the plan as a simple campaign promise. Critics say it could amount to an illegal effort to sway the vote.
California Governor and likely 2028 presidential candidate Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, denounced the plan as an attempt to “buy votes with $5,000 of taxpayer-funded blood money.”
Trump supporter Peter Bowen, 77, said he felt the pledge was inconsistent with the Republican ethos of avoiding government benefits.
Still, he saw the plan, even if legitimate, as an insidious attempt by President Trump to play a “Democratic trick.”
“Because that’s their job,” Bowen said. “Democrats give things away.”
Bowen was surprised by the dividend announcement, but expressed his willingness to receive the $5,000 payout. “I laughed when I heard that,” he said. “But I don’t care about that.”
Andy McWilliams, a 64-year-old protester from Kansas City, Missouri, believed that President Trump’s promises would ultimately prove hollow.
However, he felt that if the dividend materialized, the high price would be prohibitive.
“It will cost more than $1 trillion,” he said. “If that happens, the deficit will increase further. The deficit is already at $40 trillion.”
Rhonda Roe, a 55-year-old Lubbock, Texas, resident who attended the Republican convention and voted for President Trump, also has little faith in the plan. She said she is considering voting Democratic in November.
“We were supposed to be receiving bounties from all the trade wars that are going on right now,” she said. “Where are they?”
“They can talk and talk and talk, but where is the evidence?”
Becky Rensing, 49, a real estate broker, praised President Trump’s message during the convention. Mr. Trump even encouraged his audience to “pretend” that they were on the ballot in November to excite less inclined voters.
But when it comes to the promise of an interim dividend, Rensing was more skeptical.
“I don’t agree with that,” she said. “I don’t think we need $5,000. We need the basics of life to keep costs down.”
