The smell of desperation.........

‘Trump dividend’ wins instant GOP critics

Trump pledged to send $5,000 to every adult in the U.S. if Republicans retain control of Congress in the midterms.

Calen Razor

President Donald Trump dropped a hot mess of a half-baked midterm promise in lawmakers’ laps Wednesday night.

Trump at the GOP’s convention pledged to send $5,000 to every adult in the U.S. if Republicans retain control of Congress in the midterms. And while the crowd of thousands of his supporters gathered at Dallas’ American Airlines Center cheered the announcement, GOP fiscal hawks were balking at the effort before Trump even left the stage.

“I would like to know how they would plan to pay for … back of envelope … well over $1 trillion,” Rep. Chip Roy, who won’t be returning to Congress next year, said in response to Trump’s offer.

The payout, which would need to be approved by Congress, would dwarf the amount distributed during the Covid pandemic and likely explode the deficit. Trump did not detail how the checks would be financed — only that the money would be limited to citizens and required to be spent in the U.S.

A GOP operative, granted anonymity to discuss the idea, expressed skepticism, calling it “a desperate attempt to change the political mood.”

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 could also exacerbate a rise in longer-term borrowing costs for the U.S. government, which have been going up in part on fears the federal debt is growing unsustainable.

The move comes after months of Republicans pleading with Trump to focus his messaging — and fundraising war chest — on helping the party retain control of Capitol Hill come November.

Some House Republicans following the speech told POLITICO the effort showed how desperate the president was in the last weeks of midterm campaigning.

“It’s a little late,” one House Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said.

Others may have been relieved that the president was touting a message aimed at affordability concerns at the top of voters’ minds.

“We got to talk about the issues that people are dealing with. Families can’t afford their house, they can’t afford the food, they can’t afford health care, they can’t afford child care,” Sen. Rick Scott said in an interview in the convention hall before Trump’s announcement.

Sen. Ted Cruz in an exclusive interview with POLITICO after Trump’s speech, said he’d prefer to tie work requirements to the dividends, but added specifics would need to be worked through.

“$1.3 trillion dollars is a massive amount,” Cruz said, referring to his estimate for the plan. But, he said it’s less than if Democrats won back power and spent like “drunken sailors.”