Donald Trump reiterated this Saturday his promise to deliver $5,000 to every adult citizen in the United States, but he conditioned the payment on the Republicans winning the House of Representatives and the Senate in the midterm elections on November 3.
The president announced it in a video posted on his X account. In the message, Trump framed the proposal as the "Trump Dividend" and stated that it would be funded by the revenues generated from tariffs and the economic growth of his administration.
"The Republicans can do it, and the Democrats cannot, because we are receiving enormous amounts of money through tariffs and unprecedented economic success," he stated.
The president also issued a warning about the consequences of a Democratic victory: "If the Democrats win, there will be an economic depression similar to that of 1929. If the Republicans win, everyone will have $5,000 in their pockets."
To support his credibility, Trump recalled the payment of $1,776 that his administration delivered to members of the armed forces before Christmas 2025, known as the "Warrior Dividend."
"Everyone said it was impossible, but I did it. Everyone received their money," he noted. He also cited $21 trillion in investments attracted to the country in the last 15 months as proof of the fiscal strength of his government.
It is not the first time Trump has made this promise. He first made it on September 10, 2026 during a Republican convention in Dallas, Texas, where he named it as such.
On that occasion, Vice President JD Vance tried to clarify by pointing out that the payments would not reach the wealthiest Americans.
Experts, however, question the feasibility of the proposal. Marc Goldwein, from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, was emphatic: "The idea that we have succeeded in fiscal matters is misguided and bordering on ridiculous. We have no surpluses to distribute."
The estimated cost of the plan is around $1.35 trillion, a figure that greatly exceeds the annual budget deficit of $1.8 trillion. The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, also warned that any payment of this nature would require Congressional approval.
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno from Ohio is one of the few who has openly supported the initiative and has promised to introduce a bill after the elections.
The announcement comes at a politically sensitive time for Trump. His approval rating has fallen to 32% according to Reuters/Ipsos, the lowest level of his second term, partly driven by opposition to the war in Iran.
Furthermore, some Republican candidates have begun to distance themselves from the president less than five weeks before the elections.
This is at least the fourth time that Trump has promised direct payments to citizens since his return to the White House in January 2025.
The $5,000 checks from DOGE announced in March 2025 and the dividends of "at least $2,000" promised in November of that same year never came to fruition.
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