(Andrew Rice, The Center Square) — President Donald Trump proposed a $5,000 “Trump Dividend” for every eligible American adult if Republicans maintain control of both the U.S. House and Senate in the midterm elections, according to reporting by Andrew Rice at The Center Square.
“If the Republicans win, you win”
“It’s $5,000 to every adult,” Trump told attendees at what the report described as the first-ever Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday night. “If the Republicans win, you win.”
Rice reported that Trump conditioned the payout on recipients spending the funds in the United States. It was “immediately unclear” how the payments would be delivered. Trump pointed to tariff revenue as a potential funding source. The Center Square estimated the plan’s cost at about $1.3 trillion within a roughly $7 trillion annual federal budget.
“The reason Democrats can’t do that is because they don’t do tariffs, they don’t take in money,” Trump said, adding, “All they know is poverty and how to ruin our country, but we’re making a fortune.”
The Center Square noted this was not the first time Trump floated a tariff-based payout. He previously proposed $2,000 “tariff dividend” checks to working-class families last year; those checks “have yet to be sent out,” the outlet reported.
Hardball politics, sweeping claims
Trump urged voters to turn out “as if he were on the ballot,” per the report. “I’m asking you to pretend I’m on the ballot,” he said. “I’m on the ballot, just one more time.” He framed the choice as between “common sense” Republicans and “crazy” Democrats and referenced the Democratic Socialists of America’s stated priorities as abolishing the U.S. Senate, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We’re not going to let communism happen,” Trump said. “If they win, the greatest legislative body in history will, for the first time ever, be controlled by a communist caucus.”
Candidates and contested claims on the border
Trump highlighted Ken Paxton, described in the report as the current Texas attorney general and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, crediting him with administration border policies: “We have the wall because of him.” Trump also claimed, “In the past 16 months, a historic record of zero illegal aliens have been admitted through your border in Texas.”
He praised North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley and criticized Democratic candidate and former governor Roy Cooper, calling North Carolina a “crime-ridden state.” He cast several GOP priorities — including no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security payments — as part of his legislative agenda, and touted domestic manufacturing, calling it “the golden age of the automobile business.”
Pressure on Senate Republicans and a voter-ID push
Trump praised House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune for advancing legislation during what the report characterized as his second term, though Thune drew jeers from the Dallas crowd until Trump asked for quiet: “John is working hard.”
According to The Center Square, attendees heckled Senate Republicans, including John Barrasso, to pass the SAVE America Act, which the report said would require proof of citizenship and identification to vote and add mail-in voting limits. Trump criticized Democrats opposed to photo ID requirements, using an expletive in remarks quoted by the outlet.
Gas prices, Iran, and a warning
Addressing affordability concerns as “the U.S. conflict with Iran continues,” per the report, Trump acknowledged rising gas prices and delivered a warning to Tehran. “The places we bombed would have been turned into nuclear weapons,” he said, later adding, “I would advise Iran to not get cute because we will have to hit them very hard.”
What’s still unknown
The Center Square reported that delivery of the proposed $5,000 payments was “immediately unclear.” Trump cited tariff revenue and conditioned spending within the U.S., but the outlet did not detail implementation steps, timing, or eligibility beyond “every eligible American adult.”
Trump closed by urging voters to act as though he were on the ballot: “Please pretend that I am running and get out and vote on November 3 or sooner.”
