Los Angeles Times
· collected 2026-09-11 · by Ana Ceballos, Michael Wilner
Questions swirl over Trump’s pledge to give $5,000 payouts if GOP wins
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- President Trump vowed to send every U.S. adult a $5,000 “Trump Dividend” if Republicans keep control of Congress, a stunning midterm gambit that would cost more than $1 trillion and need lawmakers’ approval.
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that → swirl → approval
- Economists balked at the proposal, questioning whether any future Congress — regardless of party control — would pass a plan that would balloon the national debt and annual deficit.
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that → balk → debt
President Trump’s pledge to give every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of Congress in November is drawing scrutiny over its legality, the price tag and whether he truly intends to follow through on such a spectacular promise.
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he → give → promise
Speaking at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday night, Trump told the crowd that if the GOP wins, Americans will “win with us” and get paid.
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Americans → speak → us
He added: “It will be called the Trump Dividend.”
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It → add → ?
But the proposal — which would need congressional approval — raised immediate questions about whether the president can legally promise voters a payout contingent on his party’s success at the polls and drew criticism from both sides of the aisle, including some GOP donors, who saw the idea as a potential bribe.
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who → need → bribe
“I am hugely in favor of winning the midterms, and love much about this admin, but am strongly against bread and circus bribes,” Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of technology firm Palantir and a Republican donor, said on X.
Legal experts, meanwhile, say the pledge — however unusual — is unlikely to run afoul of federal bribery and vote-buying statutes.
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pledge → win → statutes
It is almost certainly protected by the 1st Amendment, said UCLA law professor Rick Hasen.
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Hasen → protect → Amendment
The president, who won reelection based on a promise to turn the economy around, now faces a reckoning in midterms centered largely on his economic record.
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who → win → record
“I believe they are constitutionally protected,” Hasen wrote Thursday on his Election Law Blog.
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Hasen → believe → Blog
“How is this different from a candidate pledging if elected to secure ‘medicare for all’ or to cut everyone’s taxes?”
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this → pledge → taxes
Trump told CBS News after his speech on Wednesday that he doesn’t think the payouts would need congressional approval.
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payouts → tell → approval
“I think they will do it if we needed it,” Trump said, “but I think not.”
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I → think → it
The White House did not respond when asked if the president had received a legal opinion on the proposal or who had signed off on it.
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who → respond → it
But in a statement, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle dismissed the criticism, saying it was fueled by “the doomers and naysayers” who have consistently doubted Trump’s ability to deliver on his campaign promises.
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who → dismiss → promises
“President Trump has consistently proven his doubters wrong, drawing a clear contrast with the Democrats’ record of historic inflation, unfettered illegal immigration, skyrocketing crime, and weakness on the world stage,” Ingle said.
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Ingle → prove → stage
“With the continued support of the American people, President Trump will keep delivering real results.”
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Trump → keep → results
Trump offered the proposal as his standing with voters has been sliding for months, and as a growing number of Americans have expressed disapproval with his heavy-handed tariff policies, crackdowns on immigrant labor, persistent inflation and ongoing war in Iran that has increased fuel prices.
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that → offer → prices
Hours before Trump promised the payments, he told reporters that he believes the war with Iran will be over “immediately” after the midterm elections, and that as a result, gas prices will go down.
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prices → promise → result
Trump did not offer a clear timeline as to when after the midterms it would end.
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it → offer → midterms
“They’re going to be tumbling down, and we’ll get them down.
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we → go → them
I think for gasoline, we’ll get them below $2 a gallon,” the president predicted.
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president → think → 2
He claimed Iranian leaders “can’t hold out any longer,” but are trying to affect the outcome of the election so that Democrats win and “leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon.”
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them → claim → weapon
Despite the economic pressures, Trump said the $5,000 payments would be possible due to the United States’ “tremendous strength and success economically.”
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payments → say → strength
They would cost more than $1 trillion, add significantly to the country’s nearly $1.8-trillion annual budget deficit and exacerbate concerns about inflation.
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They → cost → inflation
Last month, the national debt topped $40 trillion for the first time.
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debt → top → time
Economists balked at the proposal, questioning whether any future Congress, regardless of party control, would pass a plan that would balloon the national debt and annual deficit.
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that → balk → debt
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated it would cost $1.2 trillion, or 3.5% of the GDP, a move that “would nearly double the deficit during a time when we’re at full employment, inflation is running ahead of target, and bond yields appear to signal more inflation in the future,” said Eric Zwick, a professor of economics and finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
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Zwick → estimate → Business
“I find it hard to imagine any Congress would be willing to do this at this scale,” Zwick said, noting that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — the signature legislation of Trump’s second term — cost less than a third as much as Trump’s newest proposal per year, and barely passed with party-line support.
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Act → find → support
Valerie Ramey, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, said Trump’s policy proposal would likely lead to even higher inflation and interest rates.
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proposal → say → inflation
“Distributing $1.3 trillion in dividends to Americans when federal debt is already at 100% of [gross domestic product] would be a highly irresponsible policy,” Ramey said.
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Ramey → distribute → product
“It might even lead to a U.S. debt crisis.”
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It → lead → crisis
Some Republican candidates, however, endorsed the idea.
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candidates → endorse → idea
“I will get a bill ready so that we can get the Trump Dividend passed immediately after the November 3rd election,” Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) wrote on X late Wednesday.
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Moreno → get → X
“Because Republicans (and America) will win!”
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Republicans → win → ?
Vice President JD Vance appeared to try to walk back Trump’s proposal — at least in part — by suggesting the dividend payments would not go to the wealthy.
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payments → appear → wealthy
Vance suggested it could be paid for by U.S. tariff revenues, though the suggested payment dwarfs what the U.S. has taken in through the protectionist measures.
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U.S. → suggest → measures
Trump has made similar promises.
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Trump → make → promises
Last year, he promised to use tariff revenue to give middle- and low-income Americans a $2,000 dividend.
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he → promise → dividend
That proposal has not materialized.
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proposal → materialize → ?
…and 7 more, not listed.
