President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he would pay $5,000 to every American if Republicans retained control of the U.S. House and Senate in the midterm elections, seemingly in an effort to incentivize votes for his party.
"Here is my promise: If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate," Trump said, "I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000."
"That alone should win the midterms," he added.
The outlandish remarks came midway through Trump's at times freewheeling speech at the Republican midterm convention the GOP is holding in Texas, as part of an effort to drive turnout among Trump's base this November, and were quickly shot down as unaffordable.
It’s unclear whether the “Trump Dividend”, as he’s calling it, was a serious proposal or an attempt to galvanize the president’s base to turn out on election day, after he also previously promised payouts like a $5,000 “DOGE dividend” or a $2,000-per-person tariff check—neither of which has happened. Any attempt to make real on the offer would need congressional approval.