Trump claims he will send $5,000 to every citizen if Republicans hold on to control of Congress
Trump has claimed he will send every citizen $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the US House and Senate. He provided no details about where he would source this money from or the legality of the incentive.
“So if the Republicans win, you win with us … it will be called the Trump dividend,” the president said.
Key events
Here’s a recap of the first night of the GOP midterm convention
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In a nearly two-hour speech, Donald Trump capped off his first night remarks at the GOP midterm convention by pleading with Republicans to “pretend that I’m running”. The president centered himself in the battle to control Congress, and acknowledged that candidates are more successful when he is on the ballot. He offered an ominous outlook if Republicans fail to retain power. “If we lose, you’re going to lose your border, you’re going to lose your tax cuts, you’re going to lose your safety and security. You’re going to lose your wealth. Our country is going through hell. You will be going through hell just like you did just two years ago,” Trump said.
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The president made the stunning claim that he would send every citizen $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the US House and Senate. However, he provided no details about where he would source this money from or the legality of the incentive. “It will be called the Trump dividend,” the president said. A reminder that it’s against federal law to “make or offer to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote”. It would cost over $1tn, accounting for more than 235 million adult citizens across the country.
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Throughout his remarks, Trump also tried to campaign on behalf on Republicans in competitive midterm races. While he made fun of Ken Paxton’s clothing choices and the way he speaks, he praised the Republican nominee for US Senate in Texas as “the single greatest attorney general” in the state’s history, while also branding his opponent James Talarico as a “disaster”. He also praised Michael Whatley, who is running to keep the open Senate seat in North Carolina red, and blasted his challenger – the state’s former Democratic governor Roy Cooper – over his handling of the devastating hurricane that swept through the state in 2024.
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Earlier, Democratic senator John Fetterman made a surprise virtual appearance at the Republican midterm convention, delivering a video address supporting Dave McCormick, a Republican senator in Pennsylvania. Fetterman, who has increasingly broken with his party since his election in 2022, said in the video that he would always reject “extremes and socialism”, repeating an oft-used Republican critique of the Democratic party’s increasingly popular left wing. “Yes, I’m a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because well, I’m a commonsense Democrat. I’m always going to stand with America,” the Pennsylvania lawmaker said in the pre-recorded message. Fetterman, for his part, insisted that he would not be switching parties in the next Congress. ““I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party-and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on,” he said in a statement.
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Meanwhile, several Republicans who are facing tough races have chosen not to attend the convention in Dallas. This include Susan Collins, the five-term incumbent senator from Maine, and Dan Sullivan – the Republican senator from Alaska who is facing a tough contest against former Democratic congresswoman Mary Peltola. By showing up at the convention, these nominees run the risk of isolating swing voters they need to court in competitive districts and states where the administration’s policies have proven unpopular.
Trump caps nearly two-hour speech by repeating his plea to ‘please pretend that I’m running’
In a nearly two-hour speech, Donald Trump capped off his first night remarks at the GOP midterm convention by repeating his plea to Republicans.
“Please pretend that I’m running,” he said. “Get out and vote on November 3rd or sooner, because in actuality, I really am running … we have to take Congress.”
The president noted that he’ll also speak on the second and final night of the convention, but it won’t be as long.
“I’m not doing a big deal like this because I don’t have to say the same stuff twice. I gave you a lot of material,” he said. “I’m going to be just sort of getting up here and saying, good luck. We love you all.”
Also in his speech, Trump referenced the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk – which happened a year ago on Thursday. Erika, Kirk’s widow who is now leading his organization, Turning Point USA, was in the audience.
Those at the American Airlines Center gave Erika a standing ovation, while Trump chided people who “cheered” Kirk’s death. “The mask came off the radical left,” the president said.
As we’ve previously reported, by November of 2025, a Reuters investigation estimated that 600 people had been terminated, disciplined, investigated, suspended or otherwise admonished for their Kirk posts, likening the reaction to an ideological purge.
The so-called “Trump dividend” would cost more than $1tn – accounting for more than 235 million US adult citizens.
The president has given shout outs to several Republicans running for Senate in a number of competitive races throughout his speech.
He boosted Michael Whatley – the former RNC chair who is the GOP nominee for Senate in North Carolina.
Whatley is facing Roy Cooper – the state’s former governor – as they vie for the open seat that the incumbent senator, Thom Tillis, is vacating.
Trump took aim at Cooper’s handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene – the devastating storm that killed at least 107 people and caused nearly $60bn in damage.
“[Cooper] did nothing to help. He was a disaster during that very traumatic time,” the president said.
However, as my colleague Chris Stein has reported, when Trump visited the state shortly after returning to office, he said Whatley would be “in charge of making sure everything goes well” with the recovery. That’s led to Whatley being known in the state’s press as the “recovery czar”, a title the Republican’s campaign said he was never given, but which Cooper has wielded to argue that his opponent is the one letting North Carolinians down.
Trump defended the war in Iran during his speech today, and appeared to downplay concerns about the price of gas – now more than a dollar higher per gallon than this time last year.
“Let me ask you one question: Can Iran have a nuclear weapon? Absolutely not,” he said.
The economic ramifications of the conflict, including record-high inflation, have had an impact on voters. Poll after poll shows a majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s decision to go to war.
Earlier, the president spoke about his prized White House ballroom. The supreme court recently allowed construction to continue after several legal challenges.
Again, Trump claimed that this is a “tax free” project. “I’m giving you a ballroom free of charge,” the president insisted. But the Guardian previously reported that the administration quietly redirected $352m in federal funds designated for the Secret Service toward the ballroom project, despite repeated promises by Trump that the construction would be financed by private donations.
The funds were drawn from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s signature tax legislation passed last summer on Republican-only votes. The law stipulates the money may only be spent on Secret Service personnel, training facilities, technology and related costs, not construction.
A reminder that Congress explicitly refused to provide $1bn in funds for the “East Wing Modernization Project” in June.
It’s unclear on what legal grounds the president can offer a cash incentive to vote for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. It is against federal law to “make or offer to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote”.
Trump claims he will send $5,000 to every citizen if Republicans hold on to control of Congress
Trump has claimed he will send every citizen $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the US House and Senate. He provided no details about where he would source this money from or the legality of the incentive.
“So if the Republicans win, you win with us … it will be called the Trump dividend,” the president said.
Trump went on to claim Democrats are opposing his sweeping legislation that requires voter ID in order to cast a ballot, as well as proof of citizenship in order to register, “because they want to cheat”.
“You have to admit they’re really good at this stuff, they come up with more excuses,” the president said. Democrats and a small number of Republicans have said their concerns about the stalled bill – known as the Save America act – are that it would actually make it harder for eligible voters from casting a ballot.
Trump went on to praise top House Republican Mike Johnson – who he branded as the “greatest speaker” in history, and Senate majority leader John Thune.
Thune’s name, however, was met with boos. Trump came to the top senator’s defense. “John is working hard. He’s got great opposition,” the president said.
As Trump continues his rechristening streak, he repeated his suggestion to rename the strait of Hormuz as the “Trump strait”, which was met with cheers across the arena.
This comes after Trump signed executive orders to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” and Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”
Fact check: Trump falsely claims ‘zero’ border crossings in last 16 months
Donald Trump falsely claimed that there have been “zero” border crossings over the last 16 months. He also falsely claimed there were “25 million” under his predecessor Joe Biden.
While there has been a steep drop in encounters at the southern border, there have been almost 600,000 since January 2025. Meanwhile, most estimates suggest that there were about 11 million throughout the Biden administration – less than half of the number Trump has claimed.
