President Donald Trump doubled down Monday on his pledge to award Americans $5,000 checks in exchange for a strong GOP midterm performance, insisting that his record stood for itself — despite a growing number of MAGA figures describing the pitch as “bribery.”
“The $5,000 Trump Dividend, to be given to all Adults in the United States due to the fact that our Country is taking in Trillions of Dollars of Economic Development, Investment, and Pure SUCCESS, is being criticized by ‘Dumocrats’ who are hoping that it never happens — But it will!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“When I say something, I mean it! The $5,000 Dividend will happen because the People of our Country deserve it. VOTE REPUBLICAN — MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Prominent conservative Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire has called Trump’s pledge “idiotic” and “flagrant bribery,” and major Republican donor and Trump supporter Joe Lonsdale, the co-founder of Palantir, described the president’s promise as “bread and circus bribes.”
Trump has also floated the idea of awarding checks to Americans in the past that ultimately never materialized, including $5,000 DOGE checks and $2,000 tariff rebate checks.
“The Dumocrats said THE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, one of the largest ever approved by Congress, or signed into Law by a President happened, despite the Dumocrats saying it would be impossible to get approved,” Trump wrote. “Or the Gift of $1776 that I gave last year to our Military, was an almost guaranteed Non Starter, everyone said it could not be done, but it was, our Military Patriots got the money, and loved it.”