Trump promises Americans $5,000 if Republicans win Congress

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that if Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate during the upcoming midterm elections, every American adult would receive a $5,000 payment. The ambitious promise, aimed at revitalizing his party's prospects in the November election, could cost over $1 trillion and increase the country's annual budget deficit, already reaching nearly $1.8 trillion, and fuel inflation concerns.

While addressing the Republican Party's midterm convention in Dallas, Trump referred to the proposed payments as the "Trump Dividend" and likened them to corporate dividends to shareholders, highlighting the nation's "tremendous strength and success economically." Shortly after the announcement, Vice President JD Vance attempted to soften the proposal by suggesting that the payments might not be granted to the wealthy, proposing that the funding could be sourced from U.S. tariff revenues.

However, this proposed funding mechanism is far beyond what the U.S. has generated through protectionist measures, thus making the pledge highly unlikely to be implemented without significant political and financial challenges.