Trump promises $5,000 to every US adult if Republicans win midterms election

By&nbspGael Camba Published on 10/09/2026 - GMT+2 President Donald Trump on Wednesday promised $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain control of Congress in November, coupling the extraordinary claim with a plea for his supporters to "pretend" he was on the ballot. During a long self-celebrating speech at a Republican convention in Dallas, Texas, Donald Trump attempted to revitalise his conservative base while trying to buy other voters. If Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, every American adult will receive $5,000 (€4,300). That's the extraordinary gambit Donald Trump is making to reverse his party’s sagging fortunes in November. "So if the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000. It will be called the Trump dividend," Trump told Republicans in Texas, as the party struggles in polls against the Democrats. Within an hour, Vice President JD Vance appeared to try to walk back Trump’s proposal — at least in part — . Vance suggested it could be paid for , though the suggested payment dwarfs what the US has taken in through the protectionist measures. The dubious promise would likely cost more than $1 trillion (€860bn) and require congressional approval, and would further exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion (€1.55bn) annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation. The sum would far exceed U. S. tariff revenues even before the Supreme Court tossed much of the president’s tariff program last year. 'I'm on the ballot' Doubling down on his bet that he can help Republicans defy opinion polls and retain both houses of Congress on 3 November, Trump said: "I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot." "I'm on the ballot, I'm on the ballot — just one more time," he told the crowd. Opinion polls overwhelmingly show that Trump's approval ratings are in the low 30s, as voters become increasingly angry about high prices and the war he launched against Iran. He did not say where the money would come from, citing only that "our country is making so much money." The national debt last month topped $40 trillion (€34.4bn) for the first time. Trump has frequently lamented that, during the modern era, the president’s party almost always loses seats in Congress during the midterms, and he has looked for unorthodox ways to defy the trend, including this week’s convention. "We’re going to change that," Trump said. "There’s no reason for it." Would it be legal?