{
  "id": 6598692,
  "title": "Trump tries to bribe Americans to vote Republican with promise of $5,000 dividend — only if the GOP wins",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/trump-tries-to-bribe-americans-to-vote-republican-with-promise-of-5",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-10T13:52:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/09/10/trump-5000-dividend-republicans-midterms-us-debt/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he would be offering every American adult a $5,000 payment if his party continues to control both the House and Senate during the upcoming midterm elections, according to the story from the wire service. The proposal, dubbed the \"Trump Dividend\", would likely incur a cost exceeding $1 trillion and necessitate congressional approval. This would not only exacerbate the country's already substantial budget deficit of nearly $1.8 trillion but also heighten inflation concerns, as reported by the Associated Press. Trump likened the payments to dividends shareholders receive from corporations, citing the \"tremendous strength and success economically\" of the administration.\n\nHowever, Vice President JD Vance attempted to downplay the idea, suggesting that the dividends might not be directed towards high-income earners. The White House did not provide further clarification on the matter. Approval from Congress would be necessary for the payments to materialize. The White House was not immediately available for comment on the specifics of the plan.\n\nThe move comes amid a challenging political landscape for Republicans, who are defending a narrow House majority against significant headwinds, including public unpopularity of Trump and opposition to the war in Iran. Even the Senate, which Republicans previously had a stronghold on, is up for grabs. The plan has been criticized by fiscal experts who argue the administration lacks the authority to distribute funds without congressional approval, and that the concept of a \"surplus\" to distribute is ill-suited given the current $2 trillion annual deficits and $40 trillion national debt.",
  "summary": "The payments could cost more than $1 trillion and would require congressional approval, while tariff revenue would fall far short.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Fortune",
        "title": "Major Republican donor balks at Trump’s $5,000 ‘bread and circus bribe’ at midterm convention",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/major-republican-donor-balks-at-trumps-5-000-bread-and-circus-bribe",
        "published": "2026-09-10T14:37:23.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}