FREE MONEY?Trump promises $5,000 for every adult if Republicans win the midterms—but he may not be able to deliver
President Donald Trump promised to give every adult American citizen a “dividend” of $5,000 if the Republicans retain control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections, he said at a campaign rally last night.
“If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, because of our tremendous economic success … I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” he said. “Very much like a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders.”
The promise (which would cost more than $1 trillion) immediately raised questions. A cash payout would require congressional approval—and that’s not guaranteed. In 2020, Congress blocked Trump’s request for $2,000 COVID-19 stimulus checks, reducing the sum to $600. Biden approved an additional $1,400 in 2021, and Republicans claimed it drove record-high inflation.
“The (presumably deficit-financed) stimulus would be larger than occurred during the pandemic. If bond markets believe the president, the deficit, and inflation consequences would be meaningful. The initial reaction suggests bond investors are not taking this seriously,” UBS economist Paul Donovan said in an email this morning.
