President Donald Trump on Wednesday promised to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, tying an unprecedented cash payout directly to his party's electoral performance.
The proposal comes as Republicans face sagging fortunes ahead of the November elections. It would likely cost more than $1 trillion, require congressional approval and add further pressure to the US government's finances, including its nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and persistent inflation concerns.
"If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," Trump said at the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas. "It will be called the Trump Dividend."
Trump compared the proposed payments to distributions that corporations make to shareholders, pointing to what he described as the country's "tremendous strength and success economically".
Within an hour, Vice President JD Vance appeared to partially walk back the proposal, suggesting that wealthy Americans would not receive the dividend. Vance also indicated that tariff revenue could potentially fund the payments.
However, the proposed $5,000 payment is far larger than the amount the US has collected through tariffs. The payment would also require Congress to approve it or otherwise acquiesce to the proposal.
The scale of the proposed payout is especially significant given the country's existing fiscal pressures.
The proposed sum would exceed US tariff revenues even before the Supreme Court struck down much of Trump's tariff programme last year.
The US national debt crossed $40 trillion for the first time last month, adding to the financial backdrop against which Trump made his proposal.
Trump has repeatedly complained that the president's party almost always loses congressional seats during modern-era midterm elections. He has been looking for unconventional ways to counter that trend, including through this week's Republican convention.
"We're going to change that," Trump said. "There's no reason for it."
Trump had previously discussed the possibility of a dividend but had not linked it directly to his party's electoral performance. Earlier this year, he proposed a $2,000 dividend and said he did not believe congressional approval was necessary.
The president also issued a separate payment last year, giving members of the military a $1,776 cheque that he called a "warrior dividend".
Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio backed Trump's latest proposal, saying on X late Wednesday that he would work towards legislation to implement it after the November 3 election.
"I will get a bill ready so that we can get the Trump Dividend passed immediately after the November 3rd election," Moreno wrote. "Because Republicans (and America) will win!"
If implemented, a $5,000 payment would give each American more money than the direct government payments provided through COVID-19 relief measures during Trump's first term.
