The president told the GOP midterm convention on Wednesday:
“Because we’ve done so well and because our country is making so much money that, only I can make this promise to you, and here is my promise. If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, because of our economic, tremendous economic success, like, in history we’ve never had anything like what’s happening. But 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.”
The only condition of the money, Trump said, would be that it has to be spent in the U.S.
But as Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich noted during coverage of the “surprise announcement” at the convention, Trump has made similar promises about money for voters before without ultimately delivering.
“We should note, though, it is not the first time he has promised a cash payment like this,” said Heinrich. “He promised Americans $2,000 rebates during his tariff policy, when that was enacted, but after court challenges to the tariffs themselves, those $2,000 checks, so far, have not materialized.”
Critics on social media also noted that Trump had previously embraced the idea of returning some of the alleged savings claimed by the Elon Musk-run, so-called Department of Government Efficiency in the early days of his second term, via $5,000 checks.
Those payments never saw the light of day either.
Others accused Trump of effectively trying to bribe American voters with his latest vow: