President Donald Trump said he would offer every eligible American adult a $5,000 “Trump Dividend” if Republicans maintain control of the U.S. House and Senate in the midterm elections.
“It’s $5,000 to every adult,” Trump told a crowd at the first-ever Republican midterm convention in Dallas Wednesday night. “If the Republicans win, you win.”
The president conditioned the dividends on spending the funds in the U.S. It was immediately unclear how the payments would be sent out, but Trump pointed to tariff revenue as a potential source of income. The payment plan would cost the government around $1.3 trillion, a massive figure of the government’s $7 trillion annual budget.
“The reason Democrats can’t do that is because they don’t do tariffs, they don’t take in money,” Trump said. “All they know is poverty and how to ruin our country, but we’re making a fortune.”
This is not the first time Trump has proposed offering a dividend based on tariff revenue. He proposed $2,000 tariff dividend checks last year to working-class American families, which have yet to be sent out.
The president tied himself closely with candidates across the country and called on voters to turn out as if he were on the ballot, an apparent acknowledgment of his ability to motivate Republican voters.
“I’m asking you to pretend I’m on the ballot,” Trump said. “I’m on the ballot, just one more time.”
He asserted that voters would choose between “common sense” Republicans and “crazy” Democrats. Trump pointed to stated policy priorities of the Democratic Socialists of America, including abolishing the U.S. Senate, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We’re not going to let communism happen, not here, not in America, not in our 250th year,” Trump said. “If they win, the greatest legislative body in history will, for the first time ever, be controlled by a communist caucus.”
Trump touted his legislative accomplishments over the last year, including the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” immigration enforcement, and called for voters to elect Republicans in 35 races he identified as “swings.”
“If we lose, you’re going to lose your border, your tax cuts, you’re going to lose your safety and security, you’re going to lose your wealth,” Trump said.
He highlighted Ken Paxton, the current Texas Attorney General and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate. Trump credited Paxton for the implementation of the administration’s border policies.
“He’s the greatest attorney general in America and he deserves to be your next senator,” Trump said. “We have the wall because of him. We have so many victories because of Ken.”
Paxton, who was endorsed by Trump, secured the Republican nomination over long-time Sen. John Cornyn, who Trump also praised for his support of the southern border wall.
“In the past 16 months, a historic record of zero illegal aliens have been admitted through your border in Texas,” Trump said. “They used to be running around, running rampant, killing people, destroying many houses and farms, and ruining property values and creating havoc all over the state of Texas.”
Trump also boasted of Michael Whatley, a Republican candidate for Senate in North Carolina, and slammed Roy Cooper, the former governor and Democratic candidate for Senate. He said North Carolina has become a “crime-ridden state.”
“Michael Whatley will straighten things out just like he did when he ran the Republican party when we won in a landslide election,” Trump said.
The president touted the no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on social security payments as part of his legislative priorities. He also boasted of deals throughout the country to advance domestic manufacturing.
“It’s like the golden age of America,” Trump said. “It’s the golden age of the automobile business.”
Trump praised Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune for advancing critical legislation over the course of his second term. The president’s introduction of Thune was met with jeers from the crowd in Dallas, which Trump asked to quiet down.
“John is working hard,” Trump told the crowd in an effort to quiet down heckles. “He’s got great opposition from the Democrat Chuck Schumer and these guys, they’re terrible.”
Throughout the evening, attendees heckled Senate Republicans, including John Barrasso to pass the SAVE America Act. The legislation would require proof of citizenship and identification in order to vote in the U.S. and would place restrictions on mail-in voting. Trump criticized Democratic holdouts on the bill for concerns over needing a photo ID to vote.
“They say it’s important not to have voter ID because it’s extraordinarily difficult for some people,” Trump said. “They have more [expletive] than any human being.”
Trump also addressed affordability concerns associated with rising gas prices as the U.S. conflict with Iran continues. He acknowledged the concern over rising gas prices, but said Iran could not have a nuclear weapon.
“The places we bombed would have been turned into nuclear weapons,” the president said.
Trump recalled his initial decision to engage in military conflict with Iran and the pushback from members of his cabinet. He acknowledged the connection between military conflict and rising domestic costs but also issued a stern warning to Iran to refrain from future attacks.
“I would advise Iran to not get cute because we will have to hit them very hard,” Trump said.
The president said he would work to combat fraud, lower healthcare prices, cut medical billing, credit card fees, to make tax cuts permanent, pass legislation to prevent future administrations from operating relaxed border enforcement policies and pass the SAVE America Act.
“Please pretend that I am running and get out and vote on November 3 or sooner,” Trump said. “We have to have Congress, we have the have the majorities. We have to make sure [Democrats] don’t have a chance to destroy our country.”
“Together we will make America powerful again, we will make America wealthy again, we will make America healthy again, we will make America strong again, we will make America proud again, we will make America safe again and we will America great again,” the president concluded.
Andrew Rice
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Reposted with permission
