Every American will get $5,000 if Republicans win elections: Trump

US President Donald Trump has announced that every adult citizen will receive $5,000 if the Republican Party retains control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections.

He made the announcement while speaking at the Republican Party's midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday, September 9, local time. Analysts view this as an extreme gamble by Trump to avert a potential political disaster for his party in the November elections.

"If Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000. It will be called the 'Trump dividend'," Trump said.

Citing the country's current economic strength and success as an example, he compared the disbursement to a corporate entity paying dividends to its shareholders.

However, immediately after Trump's announcement, Vice President JD Vance attempted to make some corrections to the matter. He said the dividend would not be given to wealthy individuals and that the funds could come from US tariff revenue, even though the proposed spending is many times higher than the total tariff revenue collected by the United States.

Meanwhile, no immediate comment was available from the White House on the matter.

According to economists, implementing this seemingly unrealistic promise would require more than at least $1 trillion, which would require congressional approval. This would further increase the country's annual budget deficit of about $1.8 trillion and create concerns about inflation.

In this regard, Marc Goldwein, Senior Policy Director at the Washington-based research organisation Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said Trump has no legal authority to send money to the public in this manner without congressional approval.

He further said the United States currently carries $40 trillion in debt. There is no surplus money in the country's coffers to give away.

It may be mentioned that due to Trump's declining popularity and the ongoing war in Iran, the ruling Republican Party faces an extreme challenge in retaining its majority in Congress and the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections.

Source: AP