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.
The principal concern for the Republican National Committee has been that the midterm elections will be decided in large part by voter turnout, which could be depressed for Republicans because Trump will not be on the ballot.
But it was not clear whether it was a serious proposal or a feel-good attempt to galvanize his 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.
The rough total cost of paying out $5,000 to about 240 million adults in the U.S. would amount to $1.2 trillion, a price tag that exceeds the roughly $284 billion in gross customs revenue collected between January 2025 and June 2026, according to the University of Pennsylvania.
The shortfall would be even greater after accounting for tariff refunds the Trump administration is compelled to pay after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump had unlawfully imposed tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977.
Following orders from the Court of International Trade, the administration has started to refund some of the $160 billion collected from tariffs, plus interest, which is accruing at an estimated rate of about $650 million per month.
After accounting for refunds, the administration’s net revenue from tariffs to come out to roughly $118 billion, meaning Trump would need to have Congress approve an additional $1.08 trillion, on top of the president’s proposed $1.86 trillion discretionary budget request for fiscal year 2027.
