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General Category => Political Roundtable => Topic started by: rainman2 on September 10, 2026, 01:33:49 PM
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Yahoo Finance
Trump's $5,000 midterm 'dividend' is at least his fourth promise of cash for all Americans. None came to pass.
Ben Werschkul · Washington Correspondent
Thu, September 10, 2026 at 11:18 AM EDT 4 min read
First it was a "DOGE dividend." Then it was a promise of tariff checks. Then government healthcare refunds were on the way. Now, President Trump is promising Americans another payout, this time if Republicans win in the coming midterm elections.
If the GOP wins both the House of Representatives and the Senate, "you win with us," Trump said Wednesday, promising that "a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000" would follow.
"It will be called the Trump dividend," the president added at a Republican midterm convention in Dallas near the end of an almost two-hour speech.
But given Trump's record of unfulfilled check promises, his latest promise drew immediate skepticism.
He offered no details on how the estimated $1.3 trillion price tag for the idea would be covered beyond saying that "tremendous economic success" was making the dividend possible even as America's gross national debt recently surpassed $40 trillion.
Henrietta Treyz of Veda Partners told Yahoo Finance on Thursday said the proposal is not something investors should focus on, as it's unlikely to ever happen.
"This, to me, is just panic," she said, adding that the GOP is "looking at a wipeout" at the polls this fall as Trump has been dealing with cratering approval ratings (especially on economic issues).
The one detail that Trump did offer about the dividend plan is that the funds would need to be spent in the United States.
"We don't want you going to Canada to spend the money," he said, without detailing how that would be enforced.
Vice President JD Vance quickly suggested that any payment program may be more limited. He told Fox News shortly after Trump's speech that checks would be "for the middle class" rather than wealthy Americans and would depend on future tariff revenue if the US "continues to create wealth."
Erica York of the Tax Foundation posted on X that Trump's proposal would appear to spend all the projected tariff revenue over the entire coming decade in one fell swoop.
"There has been no paying down of the debt with tariff revenue, and there certainly won't be if you spend it all before you even collect it," she wrote.
19 months of check promises from Trump
A month after taking the oath of office in January 2025, Trump discussed plans for a "DOGE dividend," with a similar $5,000 figure bandied about as Elon Musk made promises about finding trillions of dollars in government savings.
Musk, of course, never found anywhere near that level of government savings, and the US annual deficit is projected to hit a record $2.1 trillion this fall. Musk left government after only a few months in Washington, and the DOGE dividend idea was quietly scrapped.
But the check promises kept coming, with Trump in November floating $2,000 for all Americans from the "trillions" in tariff revenue.
That came even as tariff revenue at the time was far lower than what Trump claimed. Monthly tariff revenue peaked last October at $31.35 billion. Since then, overall tariff revenue has turned negative as the government has been forced to issue refunds.
But Trump offered at least his third promise of checks earlier this year when he suggested healthcare funds would be sent "directly to you" instead of to insurance companies.
That came as part of a long-promised "Great Healthcare Plan" that Trump again referenced in Wednesday night's speech, but no details have been offered nor have the checks materialized.
On Wednesday, Axios reported that administration efforts are still in the works and $500 rebate checks could be coming for as many as 1 million people who were overcharged for their coverage under Obamacare in time for the midterm elections.
In Wednesday's speech, Trump cited another promise to send a $1,776 "Warrior Dividend" to US service members — one of the check promises he did follow through on, but the scope was less sweeping than the initial pledge.
The IRS later described the payments as a "supplemental basic allowance for housing payments" for service members, with the paycheck bump made primarily to active-duty members in the lower pay grades.
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I don't mind these payment, rebate, dividend schemes, as long as there is a direct source available that came from new revenue or dollar for dollar savings.
The DOGE effort was a big disappointment. So much available. So little recovered.
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I don't mind these payment, rebate, dividend schemes, as long as there is a direct source available that came from new revenue or dollar for dollar savings.
The DOGE effort was a big disappointment. So much available. So little recovered.
Was anything recovered?
Many people say no!
This didn’t help the national debt any either.
Do you really think we are all getting 5k?
Many people say probably not.
Even Vance said the same thing!
Just more ‘smoke and mirrors’ by America ‘s greatest conman!
Thanks for constructive and polite banter.
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There is no money there never will be any money I f his Disney Tales make you happy then go with it Trump spews some nonsense then Faux News and his talking heads explain what he really said . There will be choas in November voting but again that's ok too oil .gas an deficit. inflation ,will continue to rise but if it fits your narrative embrace it dow-300 you can take that as a win