US President Donald Trump has promised a $5,000 federal “dividend” for every adult American if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections.
Trump made the pledge on Wednesday at the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, where he sought to rally support for Republican candidates despite not appearing on the ballot himself.
Addressing supporters, Trump said he would approve the payment if Republicans won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them,” Trump said, he would issue $5,000 “to every adult citizen in the United States of America.”
Trump offered few details about the proposed scheme, including how it would be financed or administered. Estimates suggest that payments of $5,000 to eligible adults could cost more than $1 trillion.
Vice President JD Vance also appeared to qualify the pledge, suggesting that wealthier Americans could potentially be excluded from receiving the payment.
Trump said the money would have to be spent within the United States, potentially making the proposed programme a major injection of cash into the domestic economy.
He attributed the proposed dividend to what he described as the administration’s “tremendous strength and success economically.”
The announcement comes as Republicans campaign to preserve their congressional majorities in the midterm elections, with every seat in the House and roughly one-third of the Senate seats up for election.
