Vance suggests wealthy Americans would be excluded from $5,000 payments

Proposal would exceed tariff revenue, The Guardian reports

Vice President JD Vance suggested that wealthy Americans would not receive the $5,000 payments President Donald Trump pledged to every adult US citizen if Republicans retain the House and Senate in the midterm elections. Speaking after Trump at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Vance also suggested that US tariff revenue could fund the payments.

“If the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000,” Trump told the crowd during a nearly two-hour speech. He also urged voters to “pretend that I’m on the ballot.”

The Guardian reported that the proposed payments would dwarf the tariff revenue the United States has collected. The total would far exceed US tariff revenue even before the Supreme Court tossed much of Trump’s tariff program last year.

Congress would need to approve or otherwise acquiesce to the payments. The White House has not released details of Trump’s announcement.

Trump made the pledge during the first night of a two-day gathering that The Guardian reported was the first midterm convention the Republican Party had held. The outlet reported that Trump and other Republicans were using the convention in an effort to improve the party’s prospects as Republicans were predicted to lose control of the House.

Trump asked Republicans to “pretend that I’m running” and acknowledged that candidates perform better when he is on the ballot, according to The Guardian. He also warned about what would happen if Republicans failed to retain power.

Trump’s approval rating was hovering at about 38%, The Guardian reported. The outlet reported that the rating contributed to many Republican candidates in competitive races skipping the convention.

Republican senators Susan Collins and Dan Sullivan were among those who did not attend. Collins is a five-term incumbent from Maine. Sullivan, an Alaska senator, faces a difficult contest against former Democratic congresswoman Mary Peltola.

Trump also campaigned for Republicans in competitive midterm races. He made fun of the clothing choices and speaking style of Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for US Senate in Texas, while praising Paxton as “the single greatest attorney general” in the state’s history. Trump called Paxton’s opponent, Democrat James Talarico, a “disaster.”

Democratic Senator John Fetterman made a surprise virtual appearance at the Republican convention and delivered a video address supporting Dave McCormick, a Republican senator in Pennsylvania. The Guardian reported that Fetterman had increasingly differed from his party since his election in 2022.

Fetterman said in the video that he would always reject “extremes and socialism.” The Guardian described the statement as “repeating an oft-used Republican critique of the Democratic party’s increasingly popular left wing.”

Surrounded by supporters waving American flag placards, Trump claimed that his second term had been “the most successful two years, financially and every other way, in the history of the presidency.” The Guardian reported that Trump offered no evidence for the claim.

The Guardian also reported that Trump devoted much of his speech to warnings about what would happen if Democrats won the House or Senate for the final two years of his presidency.

“There is a crazy little sick cloud over our country,” Trump said. “We will defeat communism in America.”