President Donald Trump has pledged to send $5,000 to every adult in the U.S. if Republicans retain control of Congress in the midterms, a payout that would dwarf the amount distributed during the Covid pandemic and likely explode the deficit.
The president made the pledge Wednesday of a “Trump dividend” during his wide-ranging speech at the Republican’s midterm convention in Dallas as he rallied his party to win in November.
He gave no details, except to specify that it would go only to citizens and have to be spent in the U.S. Trump compared it to his December 2025 announcement of a $1,776 dividend to members of the military though it was actually a military housing stipend already approved by Congress, and not a generous new White House program.
“I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000, very much like a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders or like last year when I gave our great members of the military $1,776,” he said.
It was not immediately clear how the checks would be financed, but the president said it would be made possible from what he called the nation’s “tremendous economic success.”
A GOP operative, granted anonymity to discuss the idea, expressed skepticism, calling it “a desperate attempt to change the political mood.”
Also skeptical was Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas. “Well — I would like to know how they would plan to pay for … back of envelope … well over $1 trillion,” he said when asked about it.
There are approximately 240 million adult citizens in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau, meaning that the payments could cost about $1.2 trillion.
If the president followed through on such a plan, it would likely worsen inflation by further boosting consumer spending and supporting higher prices, which are already elevated due to the war in Iran. The dividend, if not paired with revenue-raising measures, would also exacerbate a rise in longer-term borrowing costs for the U.S. government, which have been rising partially on fears that the federal debt is growing unsustainably.
The move comes as Trump’s approval rating has sunk since his return to the White House last year and the Iran war has lost support.
“Now, all we have to do is win,” Trump said in his RNC speech.
Trump also last year endorsed a proposal by Elon Musk to send Americans rebate checks representing money ostensibly saved through the DOGE initiative.
Megan Messerly, Meredith Lee Hill, and Victoria Guida contributed to this report.