Trump makes $5,000 pledge to every US adult if GOP wins midterms

DALLAS: US President Donald Trump has promised a $5,000 payment to every American adult if Republicans retain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, putting a costly economic incentive at the centre of his party’s campaign.

Trump made the pledge during the Republican Party’s first midterm convention, saying the payment would be a “Trump dividend”. However, he did not explain how the scheme would be financed or implemented, and questions remain over whether the president has the legal authority to make such payments.

.@POTUS announces the TRUMP DIVIDEND: If Republicans win both the House and the Senate, because of our tremendous economic success, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States for $5,000 pic.twitter.com/s4orJJGx9d

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 10, 2026

With roughly 270 million adults in the United States, a payment of $5,000 each would amount to about $1.35 trillion.

Trump used the nearly two-hour prime-time address to promote his record and present the election as a choice between his administration and the Democratic opposition.

He claimed his first two years in office had been “the greatest two years in the history of the presidency” and urged Republicans to rally behind his agenda ahead of the November 3 vote.

“We hand America’s future to the radical left Democrats, and our nation will spend the next decade just getting back on its feet,” Trump said. “Vote Republicans and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come.”

Midterms test Trump’s influence

The Republican gathering in Dallas, which runs for two days, highlights the party’s continued reliance on Trump as it prepares for the midterm elections.

Trump is due to deliver the convention’s closing remarks on Thursday, following a keynote address by Vice President JD Vance.

The president’s intervention comes as Republicans face concerns over voter dissatisfaction with the rising cost of living and the war with Iran. Opinion polling has also indicated that some swing voters who helped Trump’s party are becoming increasingly critical of the administration.

Trump’s proposed payment could therefore become a central campaign message as Republicans seek to maintain their congressional majority.

The proposal also places Trump squarely at the centre of the midterm contest, despite his declining popularity and the traditional difficulties faced by the president’s party in midterm elections.

The event was so centered on the president that Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters informally dubbed it “Trumpapalooza,” a nod to the popular Lollapalooza music festival.

The focus on Trump amounts to a risky bet that he can mobilize the voters who carried him to the presidency two years ago, despite public polls showing his approval ratings have hit an all-time low. The president vowed to pay multiple visits to battleground states and districts in the eight weeks until Election Day.

“I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” Trump said, a line that may have pleased Democratic campaign strategists just as much as MAGA voters.

The convention presented a tough choice in particular for Republicans facing difficult elections who may need to distance themselves from the president to broaden their appeal but cannot afford to alienate Trump’s most committed supporters.

Many such Republicans skipped the convention, including Representative Tom Barrett of Michigan, Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Senator Susan Collins of Maine, all facing strong Democratic challengers this fall.

Some, however, elected to travel to Dallas. At least 16 candidates in competitive House and Senate races were scheduled to speak, according to the RNC schedule. Among those who spoke on Wednesday were Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a close Trump ally who is locked in a tough Senate race with Democratic lawmaker James Talarico, and Ohio Senator Jon Husted, who faces former Senator Sherrod Brown.

Though Trump insisted the 21,000-seat arena was “packed,” the upper sections remained largely empty during his speech capping Wednesday’s program.

Democrats portrayed as ‘socialists’ and ‘communists’

While Republican officials had described the convention as an opportunity to tout Trump’s policies, most of the early speakers focused largely on attacking Democrats as extreme on topics such as transgender women in sports and border security – political red meat for the base.

Issues that voters have consistently cited as top concerns, the Iran war and the cost of living, received comparatively less attention.

Alabama state Representative Ernie Yarbrough, a convention attendee, said Trump needs to give voters a clearer sense of how long the war in Iran could last and what the administration’s aims are.

“People want to feel like we’re not getting stuck in an endless cycle,” he said.

Trump defended his decision to attack Tehran, saying he acted to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. He also promised that oil prices would drop “as soon as we win the war with Iran,” which he vowed would happen soon.

But the conflict shows little sign of ending more than six months after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, and analysts have said Iran’s nuclear program has not been eliminated. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon.

Before Trump took the stage, a parade of speakers called Democrats “socialists” and “communists,” echoing one of Trump’s favorite attack lines following a handful of victories by democratic socialists in Democratic primary elections.

Democrats are “dangerous, radical and weird,” said Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chairman of the party’s Senate campaign arm.

Wednesday’s program also featured a surprise pretaped video from Democratic U.S. Senator John Fetterman, who introduced his fellow senator from Pennsylvania, Republican Dave McCormick, as his “great friend” while declaring he would work with Trump to protect the state’s steel industry.

Fetterman’s extraordinary participation appeared likely to emphasize the ideological divides plaguing the Democratic Party ahead of the midterms. Fetterman, who has increasingly clashed with left-wing Democrats, has denied speculation that he may leave the party.

The convention’s stakes are high for both parties. With the elections less than two months away, Republicans face the prospect of losing control of at least one chamber of Congress, with public polling showing Democrats more motivated to vote and Trump’s approval ratings deeply underwater.

The event faced stiff competition for viewers with the start of the NFL season, with opening night coinciding with a Super Bowl rematch between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.

Still, after months of negative headlines over the Iran war and inflation, many Republicans see the gathering as their best chance to promote candidates, draw contrasts with Democrats and energize a Republican electorate expressing less enthusiasm about voting than Democrats, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.